The Dream
by bricann
Summary: Three Dreamers left. That's all there was. Two of which had a mission that they didn't fully comprehend or know where it was going to take them. And they still had to slowly regain their memories of their times together in the past time of their youth as well as their time in their comas. They sometimes wondered, though, which was truly the dream?
1. Dreams - Part 1

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 1: Dreams - Part 1

 _Yusei opened his eyes and looked around. He was quick to notice his friends there beside him: Jack, Akiza, Leo, and Luna. They turned to find themselves in a place unknown. It was surrounded by rocky hills and ledges covered with snow that was falling continuously despite very little clouds. Around the entire area were lights. Over on a ledge appeared to be a room or something with a light on while farther from that and them was a fire with someone near it._

" _Yusei, where are we?" Luna asked._

" _I'm not really sure," he answered. He looked down a bit in thought, 'But why does this place seem so familiar?' He shook his head to clear his thoughts for the time being. "Let's head up to that room, though. That might give us some answers."_

 _They looked up it to see a girl, about four years younger than Yusei's age by appearance, in a strange outfit coming and leaning against a pillar. On her body, though, were strange designs along her body. The most prominent of them being on her forehead and both her forearms. On her forehead was an arch with five lines spiking out of the top of it. After than two lines trailed down her neck. On her left arm was a giant with several other circles and dots in and around it. On her right was an image of what appeared to be a hourglass. All of it and then down her legs were connected with two lines. Her eyes were a deep blue eyes with her hair a dark brown that it was nearly black. Her skin was a bit on the tan side but was practically flawless. She seemed vigilant as she looked at the other lights. The others quickly hurried up to him._

" _Hey!" Yusei called, but the girl showed no indication that she even heard him. The man tried to grab her shoulder, but he merely phased through. "What?"_

 _The girl turned and walked over to a bed with the light there. They then noticed it was a hospital room with a sleeping version of the girl on the bed. The girl they were with now sat on the bed and looked at her unconscious form._

" _What's going on, Yusei?" Leo asked._

" _I have no idea," he answered._

" _How long have I been here? In Storytime," the girl muttered. "Seven months? Nine? I don't even know." She sighed. "Don't worry about that, Ayumu. Just worry about helping the other spirits."_

" _Storytime?" Akiza repeated._

" _Other spirits?" Luna added._

" _This place is actually kind of cool," Leo commented._

" _Cool or not, I think we're seeing her memories of this place," Yusei stated._

" _Yeah, but why?" Crow wondered._

" _That's the question of the day," Jack added._

 _The girl, Ayumu, seemed to sense something and got up. She walked back to the edge and they turned with her to see a light had a purple-white glow shining from it. She looked down. "I hear her calling out for help. Great, she's trapped in a looping night terror," she commented._

" _A looping night terror?" Crow repeated._

" _Do you think these trapped spirits have anything to do with that new Dreamachine everyone's been talking about and getting addicted to?" Akiza suggested._

" _Maybe," Yusei answered._

 _Ayumu reached out her hand and in an instant, they all found themselves on a bridge and a person passed by them from behind. Ayumu turned that way with them. She looked up to see the person, a woman, falling again, calling, "No!" She came by and Ayumu tried to grab her as she fell again._

" _Dammit," Ayumu cursed. "I can't grab her. She's falling too quickly." She gave a confident grin, though. "But I can do something to change that." The woman came down screaming and Ayumu's markings glowed and the brightest area being the hourglass, shocking the onlookers. Suddenly, time seemed to slow._

" _Whoa…" Leo commented._

" _This girl can slow time!" Crow exclaimed._

 _As the woman came closer, Ayumu finally grabbed her, telling the woman, "Hold on."_

" _Oh god… don't let go!" the woman begged. Aymu pulled her up and the woman leaned against the railing, Ayumu looking at her with her arms crossed. "Thanks for… for saving me. It feels like I've been falling forever. What is this place?"_

" _A bad dream. I'm here to help you wake up," Ayumu replied. That shocked the onlookers._

" _Okay. Okay. Just a dream, it's just a dream," the woman stated. "I could have sworn it was… This feels so real."_

" _In a few moments, it won't. You'll forget all about it. But I want you to remember one thing: Stop using that thing, the Dreamachine," Ayumu told her sternly, the words worrying the onlookers. "Stop using it or you'll be back, and maybe I won't find you next time, and maybe you'll be stuck in a nightmare forever."_

" _Oh, God, no. No, I promise, I'll remember," the woman agreed._

" _Do something else with your spare time. Go shopping. Take more naps. Anything but this," Ayumu ordered. He sighed. "Time to wake up."_

" _Thank you. Again. Who are you?" the woman asked._

" _Doesn't matter. You won't remember anyway. Just go, and never come back," Ezra replied._

 _The woman glowed and floated up a bit before disappearing. Ayumu looked out with the watchers and noticed a black shadow nearby. It worried them as she said, "That dream is just… total blackness. The absence of light." She hurried down, the others following._

 _When they reached the dream, they saw a man sitting under a street light in fear. They entered it to find the man in a tunnel. Ayumu sighed a bit before walking up to the man._

 _As she got closer, the man called, "No! Don't! Don't come any closer! Who are you? Why are you here? Leave me alone!" She kneeled down to the man who looked at her and said, "The darkness, it's everywhere, it's getting closer, oh man, I can't see anything, I can't leave, it's not safe out there."_

" _Come with me," Ayumu told him gently. "I'll help you escape."_

" _What? Who… Who are you?" the man asked._

" _You're dreaming. I'll help you get back. Follow me," she replied, not answering the man's questions. The man stood up. She walked forward but the man stopped at the edge of the light in fear. Ayumu went up to the next street light. She used her powers from here and turned the light on._

 _The man finally moved forward to follow her. "Dreaming? No, that can't… that can't be. This is too real, too real."_

" _That's because you're connected to a Dreamachine," Ayumu replied. "If you remember nothing else when you wake up, remember this: The Dreamachines are dangerous. Don't use them, or you'll get stuck here, and maybe I won't find you again."_

" _Don't say that. Don't say that. I'll remember. I swear," the man agreed. "I don't ever want to come back. I won't touch a Dreamachine again."_

" _Good." Ayumu walked up to the next light that was sparking a bit. She lit up the bulb but commented to herself, "That bulb won't last long." As such, she activated her time powers again and slowed down time. She hurried over to the next light bulb as the man walked over to the one she just turned on. "Stay close to me, and you'll be fine."_

" _I hate the dark. I can't stand it," the man commented._

" _A grown man hating the dark?" Jack mocked. "That's a first."_

" _Jack, we all have our fears," Yusei retorted._

" _You have a light within you. It's strong," Ayumu told the dreaming man, taking their attention back to her memories, her words shocking them a bit._

" _But I don't… I don't know how to turn it on," the man responded fearfully._

" _Just stay close, and I'll keep it burning. Just promise me you'll stay far away from Dreamachines," Ayumu pressed._

" _You bet. I'm never connecting to Dreamtime again. Not after this," the man agreed._

 _Ayumu turned to the last light and turned it on. The man began to walk towards her. At the end of the tunnel was a bright light. She walked towards it with the man and the watching friends following. That's when all the lights shut off._

 _The man ran to a corner in fear, calling, "I'm drowning in it! The darkness is swallowing me up!" he crouched to the ground, holding his head in his hands. "The dark, the dark is everywhere!"_

 _Ayumu's marks lit up, the brightest being at her forehead. "There's a light inside him, but it keeps turning off. Something's fighting back," she commented to himself. She used her powers again and said as if she read the man's mind, "It's him! The source of the darkness. He's feeding it. His fear is totally out of control. He's fighting me and he doesn't even know it. He needs to stop, or I can't help him." She walked up and kneeled in front of the man._

 _The man stated fearfully, "It's happening again, it's happening, the darkness, it's closing in."_

" _You're letting your fears control you," Ayumu told him._

" _I hate the dark. I can't stand it," the man retorted._

" _I know, and you're feeding it. You need to let it go. Your fears and worries. You have the power to banish the darkness. Remember? The light within you?" Ayumu responded._

" _That's right," the dreaming man agreed. "The dark makes me forget."_

" _So just… let it go! Brighten up! Shine for me, alright?" Ayumu continued._

" _But I don't… I don't know how to turn it on," the man replied fearfully._

" _You're not alone. I'm here to help you," Ayumu reassured._

" _Th-Thank you," the man responded._

 _The woman stood up and the man followed. The girl then used her powers and the man grew bright. All the lights immediately turned back on. "See?" Ayumu called. "All this time, you carried the light within. There's nothing to be afraid of, anymore."_

" _Thank you," the man responded. "Could you point me to the way out?"_

" _Walk into the light," she told him._

 _The man looked at her uncertain. "Walk into the…?" he trailed off._

 _Ayumu gave a reassuring giggle and said, "Don't worry, not that kind of light. You'll just wake up."_

 _The man walked towards it pausing for a moment to say again, "Thank you." He then disappeared into the light. Once he was gone, the light followed._

" _What is going on out there? It's getting worse," Ayumu wondered in worry._

 _Yusei had to admit, there was something becoming familiar about this girl, like he had seen her before long ago. The way she acted, what she said. Her eyes and hair. There was just something so familiar to him and he couldn't place it. It kind of frustrated him._

 _Ayumu walked to the edge and saw a red light in the near distance. "What is that? A… bedroom. A bedroom? I know what that means."_

" _Do I want to know?" Leo asked._

" _Probably not, but we're going to find out," Yusei stated and they were quick to flash over to the bedroom._

 _It looked old and spooky with a wardrobe that had tentacles flinging around inside. There was even a creepy painting on the wall. It was almost the stereotype of a bedroom nightmare. A young girl sat on the bed, curled up with her hands around her knees in fear._

 _Ayumu looked at the wardrobe, when the girl called, "What are you doing? Get away from there!" The elder woman looked at her and sat next to her on the bed. "Shh… Don't make a sound. It will hear you."_

" _Who will?" Ayumu asked with a kind and gentle voice._

" _The monster in the closet. It will hear you and eat us both," the girl replied._

" _I promise, it won't hurt you," Ayumu reassured._

" _You swear?" the girl checked._

" _I swear. I won't let it. But you need to get back home," she replied._

" _I can't find my way," the girl responded sad and scared._

" _The way back in through there, through the wardrobe," Ayumu told her staying kind and gentle._

" _I can't go in there! It will eat me alive!" she retorted._

" _Not if we destroy it first. Do you have the key?" Ayumu asked._

" _I don't know where it is. My mom locks it every night… and tells me to behave, or she'll unlock it and let the monster have me," the girl responded._

" _Good parenting," Jack commented._

" _Great parenting…" Ayumu sighed. "Don't worry, I'll find the key. And whatever's in there, it's no match for me, I promise."_

" _Are you, like, a superhero?" the girl asked._

" _Something like that. What do you think of my costume?" Ayumu replied with a small grin to comfort her._

" _It's really cool," she answered._

 _Ayumu stood up. She checked around a bit before feeling under the bed. But it was too dark to find anything. She used her powers and something lit up under the bed. She turned and went around and grabbed the light from the other side._

" _A flashlight!" she stated, pleased._

 _Ayumu turned it towards the wardrobe only to find the creature immediately hid behind the doors before anything could happen. "Yeah, don't think you'll be getting a free pass there," she told it with a grin. She turned away, letting the monster reveal itself before using her time powers to slow time. She then turned the light to the creature. It cried out as it disintegrated before it vanished. "There we go. Monster gone, now all I need is the key."_

 _Ayumu walked over towards the painting, and notice something shine in the light of her flashlight. She walked up to it and found it to be the key. She nodded to herself. He went over to it and unlocked the door._

 _The girl called in fear, "No. Don't get too close. It will take you."_

 _Ayumu opened the door to show nothing was there but a yellow light. "See? It's gone. You're safe now."_

" _Thank you," she responded. "But… I don't know how to get back home. I don't know where my mommy is."_

" _She's on the other side of the wardrobe, waiting for you," Ayumu told her._

" _It's… It's scary," the girl admitted._

" _Whatever was in there, it's gone now. I promise. Come on," the elder reassured her. The girl carefully walked up and approached the wardrobe. She stopped next to Ayumu. "Do you use a Dreamachine?"_

" _Mom makes me. She says it keeps me occupied. Then she gets time to play with hers," the girl explained._

" _Again, great parenting," Crow stated sarcastically._

" _The next time she does that, you need to say no," Ayumu told the girl._

" _She won't like that," the girl responded nervously._

 _Ayumu gave a small laugh to comfort her as she said, "Maybe not," She turned serious again, "but you tell her it's dangerous, that it gives you nightmares. And if she refuses to listen, tell someone else. Or scream, fight back, run away. Just… Never, ever use a Dreamachine."_

" _I could tell, Daddy. He doesn't live with us, but I talk to him all the time," the girl responded._

" _You do that," Ayumu told her. "Now go through and you'll wake up again."_

 _The girl stepped into the wardrobe, but paused and asked, "Thank you… what's your name?"_

" _Ayumu," the boy answered. "And remember, no Dreamtime. I might not be able to find you again." The girl nodded and stepped through and disappeared. "This has to stop."_

 _They turned to see the fire was now extremely close and there was a strange looking man by it. Ayumu ran up to him and called, "The Vagabond!" The man didn't even turn to her. The onlookers were confused a bit. "Yo, Master of Storytime, what's going on out there? More and more people are getting caught in loops. I can't keep up. I thought the Dreamachines weren't dangerous anymore. I thought we took care of that. If not, then-"_

" _Hello, Ayumu," the man greeted, interrupting the woman._

" _Sorry, yeah, hi," she responded. "Look, I'm trying to help them all, and… and…" She sighed. "It's too hard. There are too many! And their nightmares… They're getting worse."_

" _How long had she been dealing with nightmares here?" Akiza wondered._

" _Or better yet, how many did she have to face to protect people?" Yusei added._

 _The Vagabond then said to Ayumu, "You have to go home."_

" _What's there to go back to?" she asked._

" _Whatever waits for you on the other side is for you alone to discover. Your single thread runs through the fabric of the universe, weaving events together," the Vagabond replied. "But where it ends, I do not know."_

" _I'm a thread without a spool," Ayumu commented. "Oh, for God's sake, I'm starting to talk like you." She sighed. "What I mean is, I don't have a home. I have nothing out there. And… No one. I have no one." That shocked the onlookers a bit. "Besides, I'm needed here. What will happen if I just… abandon them?"_

" _Their night terrors are symptoms of a larger disease," the Vagabond responded. "As long as the disease itself is alive and spreading, those people will keep coming back."_

" _But… I'm…" Ayumu paused for a second. "I'm afraid. I can't do it."_

" _The dream is being tainted," the Vagabond stated as he finally turned to Ayumu. "The universe is getting sicker. They all need you."_

" _Who needs me?" Ayumu asked._

" _All who live, who have lived, and who will live," the Vagabond answered. "You saved your reality once, Ayumu. This time, all the worlds, all of Storytime, all of time, is at stake. When you wake up, this will all be a dream. And that dream will quickly fade. Soon, it will be forgotten entirely. Unless you fight to remember it."_

" _What do I need to remember?" Ayumu asked._

" _You must open your heart and mind to messages from those who know what to do," the Vagabond replied._

" _You don't know?" Ayumu questioned._

" _I'm not omniscient, Ayumu. Much is hidden from me. I can see all threads as they are woven. But the greater weave itself is too large for me to see. I'm too close," the Vagabond explained. "And… even here, some of the past is… obscured. This… bothers me. I believe someone may have clouded my memory by design. An enemy. A shadow with tendrils into Storytime and elsewhere. All the more important, then, for you to remember." That worried the others._

" _Will it even matter?" she asked._

" _If you stay here much longer, you may never be able to leave," her elder friend answered. "And then everyone's story ends. All the people who love you, all the people you love, and everyone else, past, present, and future. Torn out of the story like pages from a book."_

" _So what do you need me to do?" Ayumu asked._

" _I want you to wake up and remember. And then I want you to save-"_

" _Save the world," Ayumu finished a bit annoyed. She then added with sarcasm pouring from her voice, "I did such a great job with that last time around."_

" _You changed everything," the Vagabond assured. "That story had a beginning and an end. But it was also only the first half of your story."_

" _How do I wake up?" Ayumu asked._

" _There is a door. Find the door and unlock it, and you will wake up," his friend replied vaguely._

" _If it's locked, where's the key?" she questioned._

" _You will know," the Vagabond answered staying cryptic. Ayumu sighed in annoyance. "I'm not trying to be cryptic. But I don't have the key. You do. Within you."_

" _I'll just have to trust you on that," she agreed. "Will I see you again?"_

" _If all goes well, at the end of your and your brother's journey, when your and your brother's stories are complete - you will both see me again, one last time," the Vagabond answered._

" _That sounds… final," Ayumu responded, a bit nervous. "But, yeah, okay, I'll, um, go. Find the key. Unlock the door. Remember everything. Save the world. Write my story with my brother. Return for the epilogue. Very Hero's Journey."_

" _You will do fine, Ayumu Honda. I have faith in you," the Vagabond reassured. "Maybe bigger, bolder words are in order, but they would amount to the same: Good luck."_

 _Ayumu and the others were quickly back to the boy's original Storytime room next to the comatosed woman's hospital bed. She walked to her comatosed body, "If I'm ever going to find a way out of this place, that's my doorway. Me." She sighed. "But the signal from my comatosed brain is too weak. It's getting drowned out by my waking thoughts. To tap into my subconscious, I'd have to somehow boost the signal and turn down the volume on my conscious mind."_

" _What's she planning for that?" Akiza responded._


	2. Dreams - Part 2

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 2: Dreams - Part 2

 _Ayumu walked over to the machine that fed her what she needed to stay alive in her comatosed body. "This is probably a terrible idea. But if I can adjust the mixture of drugs going into my veins, I might be able to give my brain a chemical jolt, boost the subconscious signal."_

" _Is that a good idea?" Leo asked._

" _Not usually," Yusei answered._

" _Well, I don't know if it'll work or kill me, but I can't even push the buttons out here. The machine is in the physical world," Ayumu continued to talk to herself. "Maybe… Maybe I can somehow affect the state of things that are mirrored in here." She used her powers to slow time and the machine began to go crazy. "Oh, great, the machine's going nuts." Ayumu shook her head. "I feel weird. The machine's gone haywire, it's pumping crazy amount of drugs into my body. I just wanted a little pick-me-upper, not an actual OD." Ayumu turned to her comatosed body. "Okay, the drugs the machine has injected into my body is boosting the subconscious signal. But now… It's too fast, too jarring. Like, like a train of thought going at hyper speed. I can't get a good grip on it. Time to slow things down again." She used her power again and then activated her mental powers. She turned and they all noticed a more immature version of Ayumu standing there._

" _Where do you think you're going?" the immature Ayumu asked. "Did you think it was going to be that easy? A quick chat with Mr. Dinner Theater, and then goodbye to Storytime, hello second chances? Don't be an idiot. You're staying here with me, doing the only thing we're good at. Being dead."_

" _I'm going home," the current Ayumu declared._

" _Home. Sure, why not? Why not go home. Easy. But, oh wait! Your parents left you, you put your friends in danger, and you lost every single one of them. Everything and everyone you ever cared for is gone. You're right. That sounds like the perfect home to return to," the past Ayumu argued._

" _Who were her friends that she put in danger and lost?" Luna asked._

' _I have an idea,' Yusei thought._

" _Maybe, maybe not. I'm going to find out for certain," the current Ayumu insisted._

" _Nice retort, big sister. Did you rehearse that one?" the past Ayumu mocked._

" _What did you call me?" the current Ayumu asked, seeming upset._

" _Touch a nerve, did I?" the immature Ayumu asked._

" _That was you. You were there. You said goodbye to Faith. It's not for you to mock and use against me," the current Ayumu retorted._

" _That was never me. You left me behind before that. You ignored your true self, and pretended to be a hero," the immature Ayumu argued. "Like that was ever going to stick."_

" _No. Not a hero. A grown-up. Unlike the whiney child I used to be," the current Ayumu fought. "But, you know, that's okay. I accept who I was. I accept you."_

 _The immature Ayumu scoffed. "Spare me that. You're lying to yourself. You don't want anything to do with me."_

 _The current Ayumu got up close to her past self. "I'm ready to embrace who I was. Who I am, who I will be."_

" _Oh yeah? And… And who is that?"_

" _I don't know yet," the current Ayumu answered. She placed a hand on her past self. "You're a part of me now. You always will be. We need each other. Come on. Life's waiting, out there. Let's find out what's happening." A light surrounded them before a light beamed into the sky and disappeared._

 _. . ._

 _Yusei slowly stepped along a stone path in the clouds. As he got further, he saw two strange looking creatures that he couldn't recognize or describe well. Next to them on a stone was a black bird. He stopped just in front of them. But he turned and went wide eyed as Ayumu came next to him as well._

" _Ayumu…" he muttered._

" _Yusei…" she responded. She hugged him for a moment. Yusei slowly returned it._

" _How touching…" a voice commented, truly seeming a bit touched._

" _Who are you?" Yusei asked the beings in front of him. "What are you?"_

" _I was Abnaxus of the Venar. He is Oular. Bird is-" the first being, that seemed like a small, older human with a large head and face and walked on a cane, was cut off by the bird._

" _I'm Crow," the bird answered._

" _You… can talk?" Yusei questioned._

" _Yes. Yes, I can talk," the bird, Crow, replied sounding bored._

" _Where am I?" Ezra asked._

" _Dreamers, Yusei Fudo, Ayumu Honda, you must find the Purple Mountains. Find the Oular. Save the Dream," Abnaxus replied not answering the question._

" _Where are the Purple Mountains? Where can we find the Oular? What's the Dream?" Yusei asked. Abnaxus looked at Crow._

" _The bird will show you the way," Abnaxus answered._

" _What? To where?" Crow questioned._

" _Yeah, he seems real helpful," Ayumu stated sarcastically._

" _Hey!" Crow cut in. "I'm right here, you know!"_

" _Find the Purple Mountains. Save the Dream," Abnaxus stated again._

 _Suddenly, the ground began to crumble beneath Yusei and Ayumu. "Wait, you still haven't answered our questions!" Ayumu called. "How do we save the Dream?"_

" _Find that out with bird, you will," Abnaxus answered vaguely._

" _That doesn't-" Yusei was cut off as the ground came out from beneath him and he fell with Ayumu._


	3. Recognition

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 3: Recognition

Yusei opened his eyes and sat up. "Ayumu…" he muttered, beginning to remember.

 _ **-Flashback-**_

 _ **Yusei was nine at the time was dueling Jack and struck the final blow. A young girl, who was four years younger than him, ran up and said, "Nice, Yusei! You're too good at Duel Monsters."**_

" _ **I'm still learning, Ayumu," he responded.**_

" _ **Hey, Ayumu, want to duel?" asked Crow as he ran up.**_

" _ **Uh… I'm… I'm okay," she responded.**_

" _ **Ayumu, you never duel," Jack asked. "You have your deck and you know how. What's making you so afraid?"**_

" _ **I… don't know. But every time I duel, I feel weird. Like I'm about to pass out or something. I don't know. Whenever I'm focusing too hard, I get glimpses of this other place or something. I just don't know."**_

" _ **What's this 'other place' like anyway? You have dreams about another world, don't you?" Yusei asked.**_

" _ **It's… It's like a world with humans but then there are other creatures, too. And it looks really different from here. I keep hearing people speak about the town Marcuria and then some mentioning that Stark is said to be a world of science and that place of Arcadia is a world of magic and magic shouldn't exist," Ayumu explained. "I don't understand it. It's probably just a strange dream." She looked up, though, at the sky. "But whenever I'm there, I feel as if something is calling me. Telling me I need to go there. It's just really confusing." She shook her head and looked down. "Can we just drop it for the time being?" Martha called them in for dinner and they nodded before Jack and Crow ran in.**_

" _ **If it's any consolation, Ayumu, I've had dreams like that, too," Yusei told her. She looked at him shocked and he gave her truthful and gentle eyes.**_

" _ **Thanks, Yusei," she responded.**_

" _ **Come on, let's go eat," he told her.**_

 _ **. . .**_

 _ **It was nine years later and they were sixteen or twelve. Ayumu insisted she stay with Yusei after he left when he reached the age of thirteen since that was Martha's rules. Both Martha and Yusei were reluctant to allow it, but eventually gave in. He protected her like an older brother for all those years.**_

 _ **But then, Yusei had brought Ayumu to Martha since she had passed out one day and hadn't woken up at all the following day. When Martha and Doctor Schmitt came out, Martha explained she seemed to have been put into a coma. They found a puncture wound that showed some sort of injection was done to put her in it. They didn't know if she'd ever wake up.**_

" _ **We'll see if Sector Security can get her to a proper hospital," Martha stated. "No one here has the equipment to keep her stable and alive. We'll try to keep you up-to-date until then.**_

 _ **Yusei looked down but accepted. He left with that. He was quick to hear, Ayumu was brought to New Domino's hospital. She wasn't marked and the doctors and people there didn't seem to be against it by the news reports about it.**_

 _ **-Flashback Ended-**_

Yusei slowly thought, _'But one night, I fell asleep and went into the other world I had continued to dream about until then. When I woke up, all memories of that other world and Ayumu were gone. What happened then? Why did I forget? And why does it seem Jack and Crow don't remember anything at all?'_

He shook it off for a bit and got up and dressed. He walked out and into the living room. He began to work on a new program for a duel runner engine for a new upcoming tournament. It didn't take long before Jack and Crow walked out, seeming confused.

"Yusei, did you dream about some Ayumu girl in that Storytime place last night?" Jack asked.

"I did," he answered turning to them.

"So it wasn't just us!" Akiza exclaimed and they turned to see her and the twins standing there.

"You dreamed about her, too?" Crow questioned.

"We were all there in that dream, Crow," Yusei reminded. "Jack, Crow, did she seem familiar to either of you?"

"A bit, but not really. Like she was in a _very_ distant memory that's locked away," Crow answered and Jack nodded in agreement.

"This morning I began to remember her again," Yusei told her.

"Like real actual memories?" Jack questioned.

"Yes," he answered. "She was our friend in Satellite. When I was sixteen, after that fight, she went into a coma and sent to New Domino Hospital for medical assistance."

"I'm honestly surprised Sector Security would even allow that," Leo answered.

"I was, too, to be honest," Yusei responded. "But one night, I fell asleep and when I woke up, I lost all memories of her and that Arcadia place she mentioned when we were younger."

"Arcadia place?" Akiza questioned.

"Not the Arcadia Movement," Yusei clarified. "We both had very realistic dreams of a world called Arcadia. According to what we say and experienced, it was a world alternate to Earth, based on actual magic. There were normal humans. That final dream I had that night was of a Shifter getting killed at a rebel base or something."

"A Shifter?" Luna questioned.

"And a rebel base?" Crow explained.

"I don't remember much still. But I do remember a Shifter was someone who could cross the Divide between Arcadia and this world, they called 'Stark'. Other than that, I'm still getting back memories of that world. But that final dream, I swear I remember Ayumu being right there next to me," Yusei explained. "It's… hard to explain everything I dreamed and saw. Ayumu would be best to ask about that."

"Yusei, are you sure those are a real memories?" Crow asked.

"I couldn't be more positive," he replied.

"Is Ayumu still alive then?" Akiza asked as she and twins walked down. "Maybe we could talk to her. And maybe while she was in that coma, she was in that Storytime place."

"I'm still regaining memories of Arcadia and Storytime," came Ayumu's voice. They turned to the doorway to see her standing there.

"Ayumu?" Yusei called.


	4. Dreamer

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 4: Dreamer

"It's been a long time, Yusei. I honestly didn't think you'd remember me," she responded pushing a clump of hair behind her ear. "Though I'm guessing that you being brought into my memories as you being another Dreamer helped bring back those memories."

"Dreamer?" Akiza questioned.

"I'm guessing by what I heard before I entered, you guys being Signers were brought into my memories by accident, too," she responded. "Dreamers are very rare. By what I've heard, when we dream, we cross the Divide into Arcadia. That's why when Yusei and I would dream, we would see glimpses of Arcadia. But Yusei, the reason why some of those memories stood out and you were with me at the time April Ryan died at the rebel base… that night you went to sleep, you didn't wake up for a few days either." That surprised all of them. "Martha was able to keep in contact with me after I woke up thanks to Security understanding her and my position. They didn't send you to the hospital, because they knew you would wake up soon enough. I'm not sure if you remember a girl in an icy plane and a black house appearing in the screens before I blacked out."

"I remember it a bit," Yusei responded. "Along with what happened after that woman died."

Ayumu nodded. "That was Faith calling for us. After April Ryan died, we were brought to her and she explained to us she was our half sister."

"So you and Yusei are half siblings?" Crow questioned.

"It's one of the reasons we're both Dreamers, by what I've been able to figure out," Ayumu explained. "Our mother is alive, though. And she put us in a coma to try to stop us from telling the truth about the Dreamachine. Yusei was lucky he was able to wake up before me. After that meeting with Faith, Yusei woke up and I was stuck in Storytime."

"What's makes the Dreamachine so dangerous, though?" Akiza asked.

"That's the one thing I'm struggling to remember," Ayumu replied, seeming upset. "The one thing that keeps repeating about it, though, is 'reality'."

"And if your and Yusei's mother put you two in a coma to prevent the word of the dangers of the Dreamachine, it's gotta be bad," Crow commented.

"I have a feeling, though, that it's also connected to Arcadia," Yusei added.

"I get that feeling, too, Yusei," Ayumu responded. "If that's so, we need to go to Arcadia." He nodded.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on! You want Yusei to go with you to Arcadia?!" Crow exclaimed. "No way! Not without us at least!"

"No offense, but you can't come with us," Ayumu responded.

"And why is that?" Jack asked.

"You aren't Dreamers or Shifters," Ayumu asked. "Only Dreamers and Shifters can go to Arcadia and travel between worlds like that."

"She's right, guys," Yusei responded making them look at him shocked. "Even if I wanted you guys to come, though it'll be dangerous so I don't really want you to, you guys can't. You have no way of going there. Besides, if we need to dream to go there, then we need you to watch over us until we come back."

"I can at least try to talk to Trudge and Mina about the Dreamachine being dangerous," Akiza stated. "A lot of people in New Domino are already getting hooked on it." She looked at Ayumu. "You said it had something to do with reality."

"By what I can tell, yes," she answered.

"We'll go with Akiza," Leo suggested and Luna agreed.

"Take care of Yusei while you're in Arcadia," Akiza told Ayumu and the three ran out.

"Ayumu, if anything happens to Yusei while you're in Arcadia, we will pound you," Jack commented.

"We'll be fine, guys," Yusei commented. "Trust us. If you hear of anything happening, tell us when we come back."

"We will," Crow agreed.

Yusei looked at Ayumu who nodded. Ayumu went to a spare room next to Yusei's and Yusei went to his room. They immediately found themselves asleep and transporting to another world.

 **Sorry this is a bit short!**


	5. Welcome Back to Arcadia

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 5: Welcome Back to Arcadia

Yusei's eyes snapped open. He slowly sat up, shaking his head slightly. He looked around the area. He was sitting on a cushioned bench in what seemed like a run-down restaurant or inn. He then noticed his clothing. It was a red top with black, leather padding, his pants were black and loose though were tucked into black boots. He turned to the area around him.

' _This… looks familiar,'_ he thought. _'That's right! I've seen this place in other dreams!'_

Yusei heard a groan and looked as Ayumu sat up. "Ayumu!" he called. She looked at him. She wore an outfit similar to the one in Storytime, only a bit different and without the designs on her body. They stood up and walked around the area. They passed the windows that were boarded closed, but sunlight shone through the boards and what he could see passed the gaps in between the boards seemed like an unbusy street.

"What's with the hole in the roof?" Ayumu questioned looking at it with Yusei.

"I don't know. I don't remember it from when we were here before," Yusei answered.

"You gaining more and more memories of here, too?" Ayumu asked. He nodded. They turned to the door only to find no handle. "That's annoying." Yusei grinned in amusement.

He then noticed a bowl filled with sticks and leaves on the counter. Inside the nest though was a familiar black bird. Ayumu turned and noticed him as well. They walked up to the bird. "Crow?" Yusei called.

"Ah!" exclaimed the bird as it startled awake. Ayumu did the same at the sudden burst from the bird, while Yusei was unaffected. "What's the matter?"

"You… scared me for a minute," Ayumu answered.

"You scared me!" Crow retorted.

"What are you doing here? How did you find us?" Yusei asked.

"I didn't. I mean, okay, I did. You're standing right there, so technically yes I found you; but, I wasn't looking. This is my nest," Crow answered. They looked at it. "Don't judge. It's a roof over my head, well a semi-roof. A roof that once was."

"Where are we?" Ayumu asked.

"The Journeyman Inn. Or, it was once. Now, it's a dump," Crow answered.

"The Journeyman Inn?" Yusei repeated. A flash image of a woman talking to Yusei and Ayumu in a dream caught his attention for a moment, along with a name. "What about the Innkeeper? Benrime, right?"

"Dead and gone like everyone else, I suppose," the bird answered. "I have to admit, I thought you were dead, too. Last time I saw you two… Poof! Vanished."

"I… don't think we were ever really here," Ayumu commented.

"She's right. All we remember of this place are dreams," Yusei added.

"I remember it well, Yusei Fudo, Ayumu Honda. You were here about three years ago. And then you just disappeared," Crow explained.

"We… don't fully remember it," Yusei responded. "I mean, it's all vague in my mind, at least. I don't remember it much. But I am slowly regaining my memory."

"Me neither. After your disappearing act, the next thing I remember, I was in Sadir. I just got back to Marcuria, which is why, y'know, this place," Crow told them.

"Sadir?" Ayumu questioned.

"Home to the Azadi. Those armored folks with exciting facial hair and a terrible allergy to magic," Crow explained.

"I remember the Azadi a bit," Yusei responded. "They hunted-"

"Being a talking bird in a place where they hunt magicals for sport," Crow interrupted. "Boy, lemme tell you, I'm-"

"Maybe later, Crow. I need to find a way out of here," Ayumu cut in. She turned to look around when she remembered something, "Hey, do you remember meeting us in a dream?"

"You remember that, too, Ayumu?" Yusei asked and she nodded.

"I remember dreaming about you last ni…" Crow paused seeming shocked. "Wait, how do you two know about my dreams?"

"It was our dream, too," Ayumu replied.

"You're invading my dreams now?! Oh. Oh, God of Ravens, I hope you didn't see the one with the chicken and-" Crow began but stopped.

"Did Abnaxus say anything more after we left?" Yusei asked. "Anything at all?"

"The lumpy fella who looks like he's been repeatedly beaten with an enormous ugly-stick? Yes, he did," Crow answered. "To be honest, I can't follow what he says half the time. But it was something to the effect of: 'Bring them here. You will have brought them here. You will bring them here. You had have will be, etcetera'. I believe the basic theme was something about bringing someone somewhere. But don't hold me to that!"

"That place in the dream, Crow, where is it?" Ayumu asked.

"You're asking me? I have no idea!" he replied. "I had a dream, that's all. It was a big white space. That could literally be anywhere! I'm guessing… the North Pole?"

"I'm not sure that's it," Yusei replied.

"The South Pole?" Crow guessed again.

"Uh, no. Abnaxus said something about finding the Purple Mountains and the Oular," Ayumu replied.

"Ooo-no, never heard of them," Crow responded. "But the Purple Mountains? Those should be easy to find."

"So, you know where that is?" Ayumu asked.

"No, but come on, purple mountains? Most mountains are grey and white. Not a whole lot of purple ones around. I'm sure they'll be easy to spot," Crow answered slightly annoying the two.

"I think we'll need some help with that," Yusei responded.

"'We?' Look, I don't know where this 'we' thing came from. I am doing just fine on my own," Crow retorted. "Also, I definitely don't need another adventure. I'm done with adventures. From now on, I'm an unadventurous bird. No, you go off and find help yourself. It was nice seeing you agai-"

"Abnaxus told you to bring us there, remember?" Ayumu argued.

"In a dream. A dream! If I was going to start taking advice from my dreams, I'd be in a whole heap of troubles," Crow retorted.

"It wasn't _just_ a dream. It was a vision, I know it," Yusei told the bird.

"Dreams, visions, nightmares, hallucinations… They all belong under the same general heading called 'really bad ideas'," Crow fought further.

The two Dreamers sighed. "Alright. We don't have anything else to go on, so we'll just going to try to find the Purple Mountains," Yusei gave in. He then turned and noticed something on a chandelier. A handle! Ayumu looked at it and nodded. "Ayumu, can you help me grab the handle?"

"Gladly," she responded. Yusei got in the right spot and she put her foot in his hands. He boosted her up and she grabbed it. Once she had it in her hands and freed, he got her down gently.

"You two are like a pair of close chicks," Crow commented.

Yusei and Ayumi grinned at each other and shook their heads. Ayumu then walked to the door and placed the handle in the slot. "It was nice seeing you… again, Crow," she told them and they then walked out.

When they entered outside, they were shocked to see a more basic, medieval styled town that also seemed to be in the middle of beginning a festival. Though, there were strange pipes going around houses and on walls that seemed to be not normal for this town.

"Welcome back to Arcadia," Yusei commented.


	6. Rooster and Kitten

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 6: Rooster and Kitten

Crow then flew down onto the railing by Yusei.

"I thought you said you were staying here?" Yusei asked with Ayumu having a slight smirk.

"In this godforsaken pigeon's nest?" Crow replied. "I'm done living like a gnatcatcher and not having any adventures. It was fun for a while, but I'm ready to live again!" He paused for a moment. "Uh, so what exactly is this thing we're doing?"

"Finding someone who can get us to the Purple Mountains and the Dream," Yusei answered.

"And what kind of adventure are we talking about here? A light stroll along safe, well lit streets? Camping out in the woods under mostly clear skies? Facing potentially life-threatening dangers on perilous mountain paths?" Crow asked, the last suggestion nervous.

"Knowing our luck, probably the third one," Ayumu replied.

"Oh, great. That's great," Crow responded sarcastically. "Already regretting this."

"It'll be fine, Crow," Yusei assured as they began to walk forward and step down the steps.

That's when the talking bird asked stopping them, "Is there a plan or are we just winging it?"

"Depends. My memory of this place is beginning to come back. Are the rebels still around?" Yusei asked.

"The rebels might be able to help," Ayumu stated. "They're the only ones here who wouldn't kill us for asking about magicals."

"I've heard mention of rebels, yes. Mostly preceded by cursing and followed by loud calls for slit throats and severed heads," Crow answered.

"That's the plan, then. Find the rebels," Ayumu decided. "Do you know where we can find them?"

"I've only been back a couple months, and I've mostly been nesting, so no… no idea," Crow answered.

"Alright then," Yusei responded. He then realized something. "Wait, nesting? Isn't that something only-"

"Stop! Let me stop you right there, and let's never speak of this again," Crow interrupted.

That's when Yusei noticed a note posted on the wall by the entrance of the Inn. "What's that?" he wondered. He then read it, " _ **The Journeyman Inn is closed, but all patrons and well-wishers are welcome at the Rooster & Kitten! On Ayrede Avenue near South Gate!**_"

Ayumu then added, "And there's a drawing of a rooster and a kitten, just to avoid any confusion, I guess. Well, this is as good a clue as any. Why don't we head to the Rooster and Kitten?"

"Alright!" Crow agreed and flew off calling, "Follow me!"

Yusei and Ayumu followed and Ayumu commented, "This is crazy. We're really here. And I remember it all."

"I'm finally remembering it all, too. And it all happened just before you were taken into Storytime. But… things look a bit different," Yusei added. "But it's still shocking we're back. And it wasn't a crazy dream, either." They followed slowly, listening in on other conversations. People talking about the pipes and construction.

They turned to a man who told them, "Shame the magicals torched Oldtown, but what did you expect? Those leeches wouldn't be happy unless they ran the city. And now they've been run out of the city instead. Good riddance, if you ask me."

"Don't you think you're being a bit harsh on them? Maybe it wasn't them who burned Oldtown," Ayumu responded. "Do you really know what happened?"

"What would you know, girl? You're just a youngster who doesn't know anything about today," the man retorted and turned back to his friends.

Yusei touched Ayumu's shoulder and she nodded at him. They turned walked down a few staircases until he came up where people had gathered to listen to a man talking about how bad magicals are. It really irritated the two.

"Why do you think people are so racist against magicals here?" Ayumu asked as they continued walking.

"I guess some fear what they don't understand," Yusei suggested. "And that fear can do a lot of things to others. I just hope people will see differently one day."

They turned and looked around again, assuring themselves that with their new attire, he fit in with the locals. They hurried forward and noticed Crow waiting for them. Despite Crow being one of the more annoying friends they had made here, they appreciated having someone they knew around.

They turned to another citizen who greeted them kindly and said, "It's good to see a couple of tourists like yourselves despite the… unrest."

"Unrest?" Yusei questioned.

"All that business with the magicals? Shameful. That is not what this city is about," the man replied.

"I would hope so," Ayumu responded, hoping it didn't sound like they were more indifferent on whether they were with the Azadi or not. Though, they both knew they were not with the Azadi. The man nodded before returning to his work.

Yusei and Ayumu walked passed Azadi guards that stood at the entrance of Oldtown as they recognized it. Ayumu sighed in sadness. She asked quietly, "What do you really think happened to Oldtown and the magicals?"

"If I had to guess, the Azadi burned it down and blamed it on the magicals. They then shipped the magicals somewhere," Yusei suggested. "But I just hope the magicals are okay, then." Ayumu nodded.

They then continued walking further into the city. Yusei noticed the people around and was a bit confused when he realized he hadn't seen any magicals at all since arriving. _'What exactly did the Azadi do?'_

They turned a corner before noticing an indent entrance that had a sign by it. Crow flew onto a chair next to it. Ayumu commented quietly, "The Rooster and Kitten, huh? Hopefully there's someone in here who knows something about the rebels here."

Yusei nodded. "If they don't, we might be in some trouble. We'll have to be careful on our wording." Ayumu nodded. He looked at the bird. "We're going inside. Can you wait out here for now?"

"What else can a free bird do? I need an open sky over my head. Or at least a proper hole in the roof. I'll be right here," Crow replied. He looked to the side. "Or over there, where there's cheese and, oooh, is that a bread crust? Don't look at me!"

"We're not. We'll see you in a bit," Ayumu responded and the two humans walked in. He looked around the mildly empty restaurant. They noticed a large shaped bartender behind the bar and walked up to the man.

"Welcome to the Rooster and Kitten," he greeted.

"Uh, hi," Ayumu responded. "It's nice to um…"

"What?" the man responded.

"Uh, sorry, we're foreign," Yusei replied.

"You don't say. From where exactly? I'm a traveler myself, but I can't quite place the accent," the bartender responded.

"Uh, west," Ayumu answered. "Far west."

"What? Azadir?" the man asked.

"Further west," Ayumu continued the lie.

"I didn't think there was a further west. I thought Azadir was a far west as west goes before it turns east again," the man responded.

"Right, well, you know. East, but you head west from here," Ayumu tried to cover.

"That makes no sense to me, but then there is much that I haven't seen yet during my travels. What's this land named? I'm Ulvic by the way," the man responded.

"I'm Yusei and this is Ayumu," the young man replied. "And it's called Domino," Yusei stated, keeping with the lie.

"Domino?" Ulvic repeated.

"Yep. Domino," Ayumu replied.

"So what will it be today?" Ulvic asked.

"What?" Ayumu replied.

"You know, you're not the first person confused by that question. Even though, by all appearances, this is a drinking establishment. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Is it my demeanor? Do I not appropriately appear… barkeeper-ish?"

"What?! No, no! You're absolutely… barkeeper-ish. You really show your publicness. Um, drinks," Ayumu replied.

"Do you have anything festive? Maybe something sweet but not too strong?" Yusei suggested and Ayumu nodded in agreement.

"I can water down an apple cider for ya," Ulvic replied. "After all, you're still pretty young by all appearances."

"Uh, thanks," Ayumu responded. Neither of them were sure how young was 'pretty young' here, but Yusei knew neither of them also didn't want to get any enemies here… other than the Azadi.

Ulvic handed it over. "Are you certain you're in the right place?" he asked.

"Not really," Yusei replied.

"Honesty," the man responded and gave a quick laugh. "I like it. It's all too rare these days. From your attires and… and, well, all of you, I'd say you two are probably looking for a place up Highhall, not down here dockside. This is a rough neighborhood, and… Well, you do stand out in my usual crowds of ne'er-do-wells. And standing out isn't always a good thing these days."

"No, this is our kind of place. Trust me," Yusei responded. "We don't tend to go with any higher-ups. But, I don't mean to say-"

"That's the nicest thing anyone's said about my pub in a long time," Ulvic cut him off with a slight grin.

"Maybe it's a language thing," Ayumu responded.

"So what else can I help you with, youngins'?" Ulvic asked.

"So the Azadi… are they still running the city?" Yusei asked.

"Oh, they're not…" Ulvic stopped before continuing, "The Council runs the city, the Emissary is… She's an advisor. Her advice is invaluable. Of great value. To all of us." Yusei and Ayumu couldn't help but notice the uncertainty in Ulvic's voice.

"Sounds like a good arrangement. And the soldiers…?" Ayumu continued.

"For our protection, and benefaction. They keep us safe from enemies outside and… and inside. From rebel terrorists and the like," Ulvic replied. Yusei could see in his eyes that he didn't truly believe the words he was saying, he was hiding something.

"We've heard about this grand ceremony coming up. What's it about exactly?" Yusei asked.

"It's the official unveiling of the tube network. I reckon it's where they tell us how all things will be efficient in the future," Ulvic explained. "The ceremony's taking place next week, on the day of the Feast of Reaping. The Emissary thought it'd be contribute to the celebrations. Won't make much difference to the Marcurians, to be honest. We'll still eat too much, drink too much, and pass out in the gutters when the sun rises." Ayumu gave him an uncertain look. "I mean, it's tradition! And tradition must be honored!" Yusei and Ayumu gave a soft agreeable smile and nodded.

"Well, what do you know about…" Ayumu paused before continuing in a whisper, "the rebels?" He stayed silent for a moment, shock on his face. "You know, the rebels. The ones you mentioned before. The magical insurgents? No?"

"We don't discuss terrorists here, young woman," Ulvic stated.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I was just a bit curious," she responded.

Ulvic then whispered to the two, "Tell you two what. There's someone you might want to talk to, over in the smithy in City Green. It's on the far side, close to the gate into the Bones. Go knock on the door, tell them you're there to inquire about the library." He then said louder, "But now I'm afraid I have some work to do. I've been neglecting my other customers for too long."

"Oh, sorry about that. Thanks for your help," Yusei responded. They walked out and found Crow on the wall. He told the bird, "We got something on the rebels. While we're looking into that, we need you to do something. A mission."

"Mission is my middle name. No, that's not true. It's Edward. Nope, that's also a lie. I just always wanted it to be Edward," Crow responded.

Yusei sighed. "We need a bird's eye view of things," he told him.

"Are you trying to get rid of me, Yusei, Ayumu?" Crow responded.

"Huh?! Of course not. But we'd feel much safer if you're watching us from up there, while we continue to search down here," Ayumu replied honestly.

"I feel a swelling in my chest cavity that can only mean one thing," Crow responded.

"What?" Yusei asked.

"An imminent burp. But I will do this thing you ask of me, Yusei, Ayumu. And I will feign pride if you need me too!" Crow replied.

"Knock yourself out, Crow," Yusei responded and Crow took off.


	7. Questions With Possibilities

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 7: Questions With Possibilities

They then began their walk, looking for the Smithy Green. They found a map sign and looked for it there. When they got an idea how to get there, they began to go that direction.

"Yusei," Ayumu called and he looked at her, "do you think Faith was right? That we're half siblings to her and between us?"

"I'm honestly not entirely sure," Yusei responded. "I don't think she'd lie about that. Especially since she was minutes before her true passing. Do you think she's right?"

"I don't know. But ever since I was young, you always felt like a big brother to me," she responded. "Maybe it was because we grew up like siblings in the orphanage or maybe it was because we are siblings to some extent. I just know that you always were there for me like a big brother."

"Sometimes, no matter if you know it or not, you do have a connection like that that you'll never really realize until the time comes," Yusei responded. "So maybe we are half siblings to each other and we just never really knew it until Faith told us. So maybe Faith was right and we really are half brother and sister. Honestly, with our eyes so similar, it makes sense."

"Do you think we'll be fine then?" Ayumu asked.

"I'm certain of it," Yusei reassured.

"What do you think 'the Dream' is?" Ayumu asked.

"I honestly have no idea," he answered. "We'll find out, though." He looked down. "Ayumu, how long has it been since you got out of the hospital?"

She looked down. "A couple years," she answered. "But after the coma, I could barely remember anything. It wasn't just my time in Arcadia and Storytime that I forgot. It was everything." Yusei went wide eyed. "It wasn't until my time in Arcadia and Storytime started coming back that everything else followed. And everything that followed was a lot faster. But… I honestly thought you were gone. Last I had known was me being placed in that hospital room when I arrived in Storytime. No one had come to see me except doctors checking in on me. I didn't know what hospital I was in or anything. And no one else had come visit. So, I thought that you were all gone after my mother put you in that coma, too."

"Do you know how we all saw your memories of Storytime?" Yusei asked.

"It's… I think it was supposed to be subconsciously directed to you alone. But your connection with the other Signers brought them into it as well. But I guess I had subconsciously felt that you were alive because of our capabilities as Dreamer. And when I realized that, I had unconsciously showed you my memories of my time there. When I woke up from that, I could feel your presence more somehow. I knew you were alive and where you were. I don't know how to explain it really," she responded. "I guess I was just trying to find you. I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be sorry, Ayumu. At least, you did find me. And even if it wasn't intentional, you sending us into your memories of you probably brought back those memories that I wouldn't have gotten back otherwise," Yusei responded. She looked at him shocked and he gave her a comforting face. "Sister or not, I will always have that connection to you that we had before we lost those memories. Both as fellow Dreamers, as friends, and now known as siblings." She gave him a small smile. "No matter what happens to either of us, we'll still have those bonds."

"Thanks, Yusei," she responded. He nodded at her. "Yusei, I don't know if you remember this or not, but you didn't go from meeting Faith to waking up." He raised an eyebrow. "Those final days you were in the coma, you were with me in Storytime. It was only for a short while and I was kind of hoping you would come back at some point. But the Vagabond said one of us had to go out and start to try to stop the Dreamachine while the other stayed behind to deal with the spirits and trapped dreamers until it was time for them to wake up."

"I remember a bit of it," Yusei responded. "The landscape of Storytime when I saw it was vaguely familiar then. But it's still really vague in my mind."

"Neither of us wanted to separate from each other or the other to go. So, the Vagabond decided for us," Ayumu told him. "He said you were a much powerful Dreamer, but had a much wiser mind as well at the time. So he wanted you to go. I don't think any of us expected the memory loss for either of us. I still don't know how Jack and Crow forgot me."

"Remember, the Vagabond said that something was blocking his memories by design, right?" Yusei asked and she nodded. "What if that darkness not only can get into Storytime and both worlds, but into the connection of the Signers as well."

"So it blocked Jack and Crow's memories of me for some reason," Ayumu realized. "Because it could do so."

"Exactly," Yusei responded. "And they're struggling to remember it more because they aren't Dreamers and aren't connected to each other as well as between us."

"That makes a lot of sense to be honest," Ayumu responded.

"Yusei, if we find the Dream and the First Dreamer, if only one of us has to do something big, which one of us should do it?" Ayumu asked. "Because I'm not sure if I can make a huge impact or doing something huge with a heavy weight attached to it."

"If it comes down to it and you still feel like that, I'll take that burden for you," Yusei responded.

She looked at him shocked. "Are you sure?"

He grinned at her. "I'm sure."

"Thank you, Yusei," she responded.

He set a hand on her shoulder and gave her eyes that said, "Your welcome."

They turned to in front of them as they found an area with the entrance to the yard called Smithy Green. There were three doors to each house, but no signs as to a library. The two decided to go to each of the nearest doors before going to the final one. When they each went to the doors, no one answered.

Yusei looked at Ayumu who shook her head. They turned to the final door and Yusei knocked on a door that sat against the far wall. A man opened it cautiously.

"Uh, hi. We're here about the… the library? Weird opener, I know. But we were told that this is-" Ayumu was cut off as the man opened it wider. Yusei was a bit suspicious. "Alright, I guess we're going inside?" Ayumu walked in and Yusei followed, wanting to stay close to her. That's when the man closed it behind them.


	8. Questioning

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 8: Questioning

Yusei and Ayumu walked through the halls, their hands bound with rope. "What is this place? Where are you taking us?" Ayumu asked the man. The man stayed silent. "Say something for once. If you're the rebels, we would've gone with you easily." Still nothing. "Not talking, then? Fine. Just let us speak with your leader."

"Shepherd's busy. She'll talk with you later," the man finally stated.

"So _now_ you're talking. Thanks, good to know," Ayumu retorted, the last sentence sarcastic. The two Dreamers turned to see a familiar man there.

"We know him. That man over there," Yusei commented.

"Kian," Ayumu commented.

"Stop talking. Keep walking," the man ordered.

Yusei and Ayumu rolled their eyes. They were put into a room where they were unbound and the door was shut and locked. The man looked at them with a suspicious glare.

"No, we're not Azadi," Yusei told him. "We're not a fan of the Azadi, either."

The man blinked in shock. "How did you know I was thinking that?"

"He's pretty good at reading people," Ayumu commented. "You can't really get much passed him. Believe me, I've tried. Emphasis on 'tried'."

"And you finally stopped trying when you were twelve," Yusei commented.

"Who are you exactly? Why were you asking about rebels?" the man asked. "If not Azadi, why would you ask about us?"

"We would rather talk to your leader about that," Yusei replied.

"And why can't you tell me?" the man asked.

"Because the leader is the only one who can really give us some answers on what we need," Yusei responded.

The man got close to Yusei. "You have questions for us? About what?"

"About a certain magical species," he answered, not backing down. "We need to find them."

"To tell the Azadi and eradicate them?" the man asked.

"Uh… no," Ayumu responded. "We told you. We're not Azadi, we don't even like the Azadi. What they're doing is wrong! Is it really not that obvious?"

"We're looking for them because another magical asked us to," Yusei told him, staying vague. The man looked at him carefully, but Yusei could see he was beginning to see truth in the two of them. "This is a matter we need to talk to your leader, Shepherd you called her, about."

"I'll discuss this with Shepherd. She'll probably want to talk with you anyways," the man responded. He left and locked the door behind him.

"Think that was too much information?" Ayumu asked.

"I think it was just right," Yusei answered. She nodded. "Anyway, it's probably getting late. Why don't we get some sleep for now?"

"At least they put us in a room with two beds," Ayumu commented.

"That is a good thing," Yusei agreed. Ayumu went to the other bed in the room and they fell asleep very quickly.

. . .

The next morning, Yusei and Ayumu was brought before a strange looking creature-person they were told was called a Samare named Shepherd. She greeted him, "I trust you got some sleep last night."

"More or less," Ayumu answered.

"You are both fortunate to be alive, girl," she retorted. "Who are you? Why do you ask questions about the resistance?"

"My name is Yusei Fudo. This is Ayumu Honda. We need your help," he answered.

"Our help? With what?" she responded.

"We weren't sure who else to ask. We need to get to the Purple Mountains, Abnaxus of the Venar, and the Oular," Ayumu explained. "We weren't planning on asking the Azadi. If we did, they'd kill us for asking about magicals. And if they found the magicals, probably kill them, too."

"I don't know where those places and people are," Shepherd responded. "Do you really seem to dislike the Azadi as we do?"

"If we weren't on our own mission to find the Oular and Abnaxus, we'd probably join you," Yusei explained.

"Where exactly do you come from?" Shepard asked.

Ayumu looked at Yusei who nodded. She then told Shepherd, "We're from across the Divide. We're from Earth, or better known to you as Stark."

"Are you… Shifters?" she asked.

"Not really. We're called Dreamers," Yusei answered. "We come here through dreaming."

"So… you are magicals in a way, but not entirely," Shepherd commented.

"I guess you could say that," Ayumu answered. "And we have been to the place between: Storytime. A place where all our stories begin and end."

"Why did you come here in the first place?" Shepherd questioned.

"We came here before a long time ago," Yusei responded. "A darkness was coming there, and infecting itself here. When we woke up after something happened, we were locked in Storytime for a while."

"When we woke up from that, the darkness had become worse on our world. But it was connected to the darkness here. We're trying to stop it before it destroys everything," Ayumu finished.

"I see. But why should we help you find this person that you came here for?" Shepherd asked. "I am still a bit wary that you two may be agents of the Azadi."

"No! We're-" Ayumu was cut off by Crow.

"Yusei and Ayumu! They're Yusei and Ayumu!" the bird stated landing on a tall pile of books on a table.

"Balance…" Shepherd muttered.

"Don't you dare touch their heads. They're on an important mission!" Crow told the Samare.

"I see. And who are you?" Shepherd asked.

"Crow. Honorary rebel, long-term avian buddy and sidekick of April Ryan, rebel leader, adventurer, hero, savior of the Balance," he listed off. "That's right. Here's Crow! This is him, I'm me. So… Where's April?" They stared at him for a moment. "She can vouch for Yusei and Ayumu. They're best friends, tight as three chicks in a nest. I don't see April. Is she out on a mission, or sleeping in, or…?" They both just watched him with sad faces. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"I… thought you knew, Crow," Ayumu responded.

"Knew what? What's going on? What?!" the bird pressed urgently.

"April Ryan is dead, bird. She was assassinated during an Azadi raid on Myria the winter before last," Shepherd told him. "She died a hero's death and was given a hero's burial. We remember her fondly."

"What…?" Crow muttered.

"Sorry, Crow," Yusei stated but the bird took off in distress. "Crow!" He sighed.

"I've heard of this bird, Crow. So you knew April Ryan?" Shepherd asked.

"We met a couple times. We were there… when she died," Ayumu answered. "We had tried to save her, but… we couldn't. But yeah, I knew April."

"You _are_ the two she told us about. The people who dream. They spoke of you, Bachim, Brynn, Chawan. They said you were one of us," Shepherd realized. "This certainly changes things. But how did you-?"

"By the way, Shepherd," a young rebel interrupted, running up, "Likho's wondering, now that Kian's gone, if we should maybe-" She stopped. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to cut in. I just got a bit impatient." She looked at Ayumu. "Hey, by the way! You have great hair!"

"Uh, thanks," Ayumu responded awkwardly.

"Don't worry, Enu. I will speak with Likho. With Kian gone, we need to change our plans," Shepherd told the young rebel, now known to the two Dreamers as Enu.

"Kian? The Azadi guy? People called him the Apostle," Ayumu questioned.

"You know him?" Shepherd replied.

"We… met once, briefly. He was kind to us," Yusei explained. "But isn't he an enemy of you guys? Being Azadi."

"Was. He's with us now. Defected. Yep," Enu told them. "Well, except that he abandoned us to go on a crazy suicide mission to-"

"He left last night," Shepherd cut in stopping the girl.

"Of course. After everything, we miss each other like that," Ayumu responded.

"Oh, Enu, this is… Yusei and Ayumu, am I saying that correctly?" Shepherd introduced.

"Yeah," Yusei replied. They looked at Enu.

"Hey, nice to meet you. Enu, right?" Ayumu greeted.

"Yep. Hey, want to be friends? Ugh, sorry," Enu responded.

"They need our help, Enu. They have questions. Maybe you can-" Shepherd began but Enu agreed instantly.

"Of course! No problem. Leave this to me, Shepherd," the girl responded.

"I'm sorry for questioning you, Yusei, Ayumu. And I'm sorry I could not be of any assistance. But it is nice to know that you also feel the same as we do about the Azadi. Please, stay, speak with Enu and the others," Shepherd told him. "Perhaps someone here has the answers you're looking for."

"Thank you, Shepherd," Yusei responded and she walked off.


	9. Likho

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 9: Likho

Enu came up. "Where are you guys from? You're clothes are amazing. Where did you get them?" she asked.

"They… came with the jump. We're from Earth. That's another-" Yusei was cut off.

"Planet! Across the Divide! On the flip side of the Balance! The world of science! Are you serious? That's incredible!" Enu interrupted.

"I'm sure there are other worlds like this one and other worlds like Earth, or you call it Stark," Ayumu told her.

"That's amazing! I have so many questions. I don't even know where to start! I-I'm…" Enu stopped and calmed down. "I am seriously worried that my head might explode. I think I need to sit down."

"Uh, yeah, don't explode," Ayumu told her with a small, slightly nervous smile.

"We're not too special," Yusei assured the rebel.

"He's right. I mean, you're orange and the ears. You're the first I've seen like you," Ayumu agreed.

"Oh, I'm just a boring old Zhid. It's totally normal. Holy crap, another planet! I can't believe it! How did you get here? Are you guys Shifters?" Enu asked.

"Dreamers, I think. We dream ourselves here from what we can tell," Yusei replied.

"Just dream yourself here. That's it. No biggie," Enu stated sarcastically. She then added, still excited, "You guys are the best thing I have ever seen! Seriously!"

"Really? Thanks," Yusei responded a bit awkwardly. He hadn't expected that, at all.

"So, what do you need help with? Shepherd said-" Yusei cut her off with the answer.

"We're trying to find Purple Mountains, a tribe of magical creatures called the Oular, and someone called Abnaxus of the Venar. He had told us to-" he was cut off by Enu this time.

"Slow down! Okay. Purple Mountains, Oular, Venar, Abnaxus. Right?" she listed. "Nope. None of that sounds remotely familiar. I have never heard any of those words before. Of course, there are a lot of things I don't know. I'm a- I mean, I _was_ a farm girl. A silly Zhidling. There's so much I don't know. But, I do know where to look for answers."

"Yeah?" Ayumu prodded. "Where?"

"The library! The library holds all the answers! Do you have libraries on Stark? Nevermind, silly question, of course you don't," Enu replied. "I'll go to our library right now and start looking. Purple Mountains, Oular, Abnaxus of the Venar. Come find me where you're ready. I can't wait to spend more time with you! Ugh, sorry!" She then ran off with Yusei and Ayumu giving a light laugh at her wiry personality.

"Well, she's a very interesting person," Ayumu stated as they walked to see where she went.

"No kidding," Yusei responded. "To be honest, we're probably the first she's ever seen of Dreamers. I do wonder how many Shifters there have been, though."

"Yeah, Benrime said other Shifters would arrive at the Journeyman Inn, didn't she? I wonder if she meant just April or if there were others," Ayumu agreed.

"That is true," Yusei responded.

A blue man walked up to them as they went towards a hallway. "So did I hear Enu's loud voice about you two being from across the Divide?"

"Now I'm wondering how many people heard that," Ayumu commented.

"Yes, we are from Stark," Yusei responded. "Though we know Stark as 'Earth'."

"And you knew April? You were there when she died?" he asked.

"Yes," Yusei answered, seeming regretful. "We tried to save her. But… we couldn't."

"How did you know? Did you hear the conversation?" Ayumu asked.

"Shepherd told me. I was- I wanted to know what you saw," he asked. "My name's Likho by the way."

"We saw April and Kian talking. Then Azadi soldiers arrived, and April was… stabbed with a spear. She fell into the water. Kian was arrested. He was obviously distraught," Ayumu answered. "Like Yusei said, we tried to save her. But we were too late."

"Against the entire Azadi army, there wasn't much either of you could do," Likho reassured.

"Were you two friends?" Yusei asked.

"For a time, we were more than- friends. We were good friends. She was the strongest and bravest woman I ever knew. I respected her. I loved her," Likho replied sadly.

"I've always said, Likho, that the bonds we make with others never leave us. No matter what happens, there will always be a bond there. No matter if it's only spiritual or physical, April's still there with you," Yusei told him.

"Do you believe that?" he asked.

"I do," Yusei answered. "Ayumu and I were separated for a while. After a coma we were in together, we lost our memories of each other for a bit. But our bonds with each other were still there. And it brought us together again while also returning our memories of each other. But despite not really remembering each other, we still had that bond. And the same happens with my father."

"Your father?" Likho questioned.

"My father died in an explosion when I was only one. So, I never really knew him. But the bond between my father and I were still there. And while I didn't have any bloodline family left as far as I knew, I still had my friends and foster mother who were my family. My point is: just because April died, she didn't really leave you. She's still there with you in your bonds," Yusei explained.

"For one seeming so young, you are very wise," Likho commented.

"Thanks. I've been through a lot, myself," Yusei responded. Likho nodded.

"Sorry to change the subject, but we're looking for something in Arcadia that we need to find. One thing we have is we're looking for the Purple Mountains. Have you heard of them?" Ayumu asked.

"I have not. I don't know the Northlands and I have no inclination to know it any better than I do," Likho responded. "When this war is over, I'm going to take back our homelands. My people need me."

"And where is home for you?" Yusei asked.

"The continent you know as Azadir, my people's ancestral home. We call it Intiqua-aba, Land of the Setting Sun," Likho explained. "We are the Dol-Intiqua, and we were there first. When our enemy's been sent scurrying from this place, we're taking the war home."

"Good luck, then," Ayumu responded.

"Have you heard of the name Abnaxus?" Yusei asked. "That's someone we're looking for."

"No, I'm sorry," Likho replied.

"What about the Oular?" Ayumu tried. "Does that sound familiar at all, Likho?"

"I'm afraid not. I've never even heard of the name 'Oular'," he answered. "What are they?"

"A magical people. They live in the Purple Mountains," Yusei explained.

"Like I said, outside of the Southlands and Azadir, I haven't seen much of this world. I'm afraid I don't know the Oular," Likho responded.

"We're going to keep looking around. We know Enu's in the library somewhere," Ayumu stated.

"Thank you, though, Likho. I hope you're able to take back your home," Yusei responded. "It's not right what the Azadi did."

"You have become another person I truly respect, Yusei. Honor, integrity, honesty, heart… Those are all too rare to find nowadays. And I know Ayumu might be able to one day earn my respect like that as well," Likho replied.

Yusei nodded with a thankful grin. "We'll see you another time, Likho."

"Another time, Yusei, Ayumu," he responded.


	10. Clues

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 10: Clues

The two Dreamers then walked towards the library. Ayumu whispered to Yusei, "How do you get people to respect you so easily?"

"I honestly have no idea," he answered.

Yusei and Ayumi arrived at the library and saw the young Zhid looking through the books frantically, naming them off as she did and kept asking the books to not fail her. They grinned at her.

Ayumu walked up to Enu and greeted, "Hey, Enu!"

"Hey! There must be something in one of these books that'll help you find what you're looking for. I'm going to keep looking until I find it!" she told him.

"Thanks," Yusei responded. He looked at Ayumu and whispered, "We might want to find and check up on Crow."

Ayumu nodded. They slowly walked out to look for Crow, try to talk to him. They were quick to find him in a corner on a barrel. "Hey, Crow," the female Dreamer greeted, her regretfulness in her voice.

"Sorry about that, Crow. We thought you knew," Yusei told him.

"It's fine. It's not your fault. I just can't-" he stopped. He then continued not too long after, "I can't believe she's gone. But I sort of knew, you know? I felt it… in my heart. And that final time we were together, it wasn't… It wasn't like what it used to be. It was weird. Like too much time had passed and we'd drifted apart. I should've known it wouldn't last."

"I know that feeling. It's just something that you just have to learn to live with," Yusei told him. "It isn't in the same way as you, but I do understand."

"I know. And I will," Crow responded. "Were you there when she…?"

"No, we-" Ayumu paused. "They said it was quick. I'm sure she didn't suffer."

"She was already suffering. She was lost after she saved the Balance," Crow responded. "We wandered the same paths for a while, had some adventures, saw some sights, but then… things happened, and we lost each other. Anyway, did I help? With, you know, the rebel thing. Did they believe you? That you're not a spy?"

"You did and they do. It's fixed now. They'll help us," Yusei replied.

"Good. Good. Good," Crow responded. "They're not going to cut your head off?"

Ayumu gave him a shocked look. "What? No!"

"Good. Good," Crow responded again. "I wish I could've been more helpful. But it was ten years ago, and I didn't really pay attention to what April said about that Abnaxus chap."

"It's okay," Yusei assured.

"If you don't mind, I need to be alone for a little while. Clean my feathers, sharpen my beak, reflect on the nature of life. Bird stuff," Crow told the two humans.

"We understand," Yusei responded.

"I'll find you in the city," Crow told him before taking off. Ayumu sighed and Yusei grabbed her hand. She looked at him before nodding and they found their way back to Enu who was still digging through the shelves.

She turned to him. "I've been trying to find a book or scroll or manuscript or map or torn note page or ancient magical tome or pamphlet or piece of cloth that mentions the Purple Mountains or the Oular, but…" she trailed off. "No luck. It's really frustrating! This library has never let me down before. Bad library!" She sighed. "By the way, what do you do when you're not saving the world?"

"Working really," Yusei answered. "I don't do much else except playing games with my friends."

"Sounds like me nowadays," Enu responded. "But I'm not a super powerful magical like you guys."

"We're not really magicals. We're just lucky," Ayumu corrected. Enu gave an enthusiastic nod. "So, you just joined the resistance?"

"Oh, yes. No. Not really 'just'. About half a year ago? Wait, more than that. Time flies when you're having fun! Well, 'fun'," she explained putting quotes around the final "fun".

"Sometimes you need to make the best out of bad situations," Yusei told him. "It's not easy, believe us, we know."

"Right. And it's my duty. We're doing good, important work here," Enu agreed. "Also, I didn't want to end up living the life my parents wanted for me."

"I can identify with that. Kind of. I lost my parents to an explosion when I was baby. So did Ayumu," Yusei responded.

"You did?!" Enu exclaimed.

"Yeah," Ayumu replied. "But we had a foster mother and friends who became our family."

"How bad was the explosion?" Enu asked.

"It tore the city into two sections," Yusei answered. "A lot of lives were lost that day. I'm lucky I was able to survive the blast. And it was thanks to my father. Same thing with Ayumu."

"Are you guys brother and sister?" Enu asked excitedly. "I mean the eyes are so similar. And so is the hair a bit…"

"We're half siblings by what we know," Yusei answered.

"That is amazing!" Enu exclaimed. "How old are you apart?"

"About four years," Ayumu answered.

"Aww! She's like a baby sister!" the Zhid commented.

"We've had younger half siblings," Yusei responded. "We don't know them that well, though. We can talk about this later, though, if you want."

"Yes, please!" Enu agreed.

"So, no luck on the books?" Ayumu asked.

"Nothing. Sorry. And I've read most of these before. I can't remember coming across any of those words you mentioned," she replied. "There's not much else to do here in the evenings except read. I don't really have any female friends or friends my age. It gets lonely. Anyway, I've been through all the encyclopedias and travelogues, but…"

"Nothing about the Purple Mountains or the Oular?" Yusei finished with his question.

"Nothing. I mean, the Purple Mountains sounds colloquial. It may have a different name officially. But the Oular, there should be something about them. It's a magical race?" Enu replied.

"They didn't look human, at least," Yusei answered.

"Weird there's nothing about them. They must be very isolated, or…" Enu trailed off.

"Or?" Ayumu prodded.

"Or someone's trying to hide something," Enu suggested. "Which would be weird and very hard to pull off. Forget I said that."

Ayumu chuckled. "Alright," he agreed. "I guess I'll have to look elsewhere, though."

"Oh no! I'm so sorry. I really thought I'd find something. I feel terrible, I-" she stopped before quickly continuing, "Do you want to be my friends? I already asked you that. I'm coming on too strong, aren't I? I am, I can tell. Stop it, Enu!"

"Not at all, Enu. It's… It would be great to be your friend," Yusei reassured.

Ayumu nodded with a smile. "Thanks for the help."

"Much good that did. I really wish I could-" she was cut off when a old man that the two Dreamers remembered as Blind Bob called out walking in. They turned to the events taking place.

"For the love of the festering demon-shrimps of Jaharva… Do I have to do everything in this place?" the man asked. "I didn't spend all those years living on the streets of Marcuria, pilfering food and liberating fat purses to deal with this shite. I swear, I'd be better off going back to sleeping in Abnaxus' stone tree, if I can't even get a mattress that isn't flea-and-maggot infested. Do your bleedin' jobs, people! Is that too much to ask?"

"Sorry about that," Enu called. "Disregard him. Not important. There must be something in this library. I'm not giving up! I'm going to keep digging until I find something!"

"Alright. We'll go talk to him. See if the old guy knows something," Yusei stated.

"We'll let you know what we find," Ayumu commented.

"Okay," Enu agreed before turning back to her work.

The two siblings walked over to the old man. "Blind Bob?" Yusei greeted.

"Eh? What? Who's ask-?" he stopped for a moment. "Well, blessed be me striped breeches! You're the young ones who brought me mulled wine back when I hit rock bottom in Marcuria! What in the name of the Eight-Eyed Octo-God of Tartillus are you doing here?"

"We were about to ask the same question. But… not in the same words," Ayumu replied.

"Oh, I left my life of beggaring behind. Cleaned meself up, joined the resistance. I'm a general now," Blind Bob answered. "I'm making a difference!"

"What happened to your theoretical blindness?" Yusei asked. "The last time we saw you, you said something about that."

"Cured! I was blind, theoretically, but now I can see," Blind Bob answered. "To be honest, some days I wonder if I ever was theoretically blind, or if it was hypothe metaphysical." Ayumu gave him a confused look, not knowing the word. "You know, just in my head, like."

"Oh, uh-" Ayumu began but the elder cut him off.

"It was simpler being Blind Bob and restorting to beggaring and vagrancy than taking a long, hard look at myself in a speculum. Particularly on account of the blindness. I wish my old pa could've lived to see me. He always believed in me, even when I didn't. To the bitter end, he told me I had potential. I nodded and wept and promised him I'd try my best. Then, as he drew his last, ragged breath, I stole his purse and his breeches. Well, pa, I'm sorry about the breeches. I'm making something of life now. Making something of myself! I'm no longer Blind Bob! Call me Bob-who-can-see," Bob interrupted.

"Alright," Yusei agreed slowly. "Are you an actual general?"

"Aye. See these stripes? General Bob, that's me. I takes care of the logic-sticks around here, so the place don't crumble to pieces," Bob replied. "Shepherd's busy with the strat-ee-gering. Kian sorts out who to murder, and how. Likho makes a fine job of being contrary. And Enu keeps everyone's spirits up. I mean, when she's not shooting Azadi soldiers in the eyeballs with her bow and arrow. Me, I make sure the larder's stocked, the sheets are cleaned, relatively speaking, and that the piss pots are empty. Can't go to war on a full bladder."

Ayumu gave a small, singular, amused laugh. She then returned serious and asked, "How did you even end up here? With the rebels, I mean."

"Not long after you and I met, I overdosed on mulled wine. Spooked me good, that did. I figured I had two choices. Either spend the remainder of my days in the gutter, stinking of foreign spices and currants. And, to be honest, there didn't seem to be a whole lot of days left. Or I could clean myself up, try to amount to something after a lifetime wasted on wine, women, and various gutters. The moment I looked up, I saw how the Azadi were running magicals out of Marcuria. I couldn't ignore it. It was disgraceful! I mean, magicals always treated me with kindness and respect. I felt I owed them. So here I am, doing my part and paying my debts. Aside from the gambling and bar tabs, mind you. And I feel twenty years younger to boot!"

"That's always a plus," Yusei responded. "Just wondering, but have you heard of the Purple Mountains?"

"Oh, aye! Aye, of course. Everyone's heard of the Turtle Mountains. They're-" Bob replied but Ayumu stopped him.

"Uh, no. 'Purple', not 'turtle'," she corrected.

"That's what I said, turtle," Bob retorted.

"Um…" Ayumu trailed off.

"Right, of course, you don't know. Why would you?" Bob responded. "My apologies, lassie. See, I have a serious P-deficiency. It's been a lifelong struggle. The Turtle Mountains? No, never heard of them. Sorry."

"What about someone called Abnaxus?" Ezra asked.

"Abnaxus? Now there's a name I haven't heard spoken in years. Where do you know it from?" Bob replied.

"Sorry, we just overheard-" Yusei stopped and sighed softly. "Actually, we met Abnaxus. Kind of. We dreamed about him. Or maybe it was more like a vision."

Ayumu continued, "It sounds crazy, we know but-"

"Sounds completely sane to me, youngins'. Abnaxus turning up in visions? That's exactly the sort of fellow he was. Persistent, unpredictable, and not a little annoying," Bob interrupted but the response relieved the two. "I met him when he was the Venar ambassador to Ayrede. This was before the gutters, when I was still a dapper chap on the Marcurian party circuit. We hit it off, seeing as I was going blind, theoretically, and he saw everything, past, present, and future. Years later, as he was leaving town, he entrusted me with a key to his home. Said to take care of it. I'd sleep there from time to time. Very uncomfortable bunk. Musty smell of ancient books and foreign weeds. I didn't care much for it, to be honest."

"A key? To Abnaxus' home?" Ayumu questioned.

"They called it the Abode back then. Abnaxus' Abode," Bob replied. "Primitive accommodations but luxurious location. Prime real estate. Central, with a garden view. Very quiet at night."

"Do you still have the key?" Ayumu asked. "Sorry, it's important."

"Oh, aye. I carry it with me everyday. After all, it is a magic key. Figured it might do my lumbago some good," Bob replied.

"What about his Abode?" Yusei pressed.

"Also still there, and not hard to find. Sits right circle in the center of the City Green. Abnaxus carved it out of a petrified tree with his own, morbidly huge hands. A few years ago, the authorities turned it into a historical landmark. Of course, no one can get inside, on account of the Venar magic," the elder explained. "Not without the key, at least."

"The key… Can we-?" Ayumu began but Bob cut him off.

"Oh sure," he answered to the uncompleted question and handed it over to her. "Heavier than it looks, ain't it? More powerful than iron. Worth its weight in precious stones, and then some. This magic goes back to the first magic. None of that modern hocus pocus. You feel it in your fingers when you hold it. Tingles, don't it?"

"It… does. Sorry, I know this is asking a lot, but can I-?" the girl was cut off again.

"Borrow it? Aye, why not? It's done the lumbago no good, and I don't have much use for the place now that I've a proper bunk here," Bob answered, once again to the unfinished question. "But keep it safe. Abnaxus left most of his belongings behind and entrusted me with their care. I'd hate to betray his trust."

"We will," Yusei assured.

"Good," Bob responded. "Well, I had better get back to work."

Yusei and Ayumu nodded before heading back to Enu. "Hey, we've made some progress. Blind Bob- I mean, the General gave us the key to Abnaxus' house. We might find what we're looking for there," the male Dreamer told her.

"That's great! Oh, I wish I could come with you, but there's this whole furry thing I've got going on. It's a big no-no in the city these days," Enu responded.

"Sorry, Enu," Ayumu told her.

"It's fine," Enu responded.

"Thanks again for the help," Yusei told her.

"Are you leaving? Already? I mean, we just met, and… and-" Enu began. "You'll come back though, right?"

"Probably," Ayumu replied.

"Okay, because there's so much I want to talk to you about and I'll let you go now, thanks for talking to me, Yusei, Ayumu. I miss you already. Shut up now, Enu! Okay, thanks, bye!" Enu responded.

They gave her a small grin before running out to talk to Shepherd about their leaving. When they met her, she asked, "You spoke with the General. Did you find what you were looking for?"

"We got a start," Yusei answered.

"Good. I've asked them to ready a boat for you. Whenever you're ready, it'll take you into the city," Shepherd informed. "I may not fully understand your roles or exactly where you're from, Yusei, Ayumu. But there's something about you that- I've learned to have faith in the Balance. The Balance provides. The Balance guides. It's guiding you now. And you must let it take you wherever it leads, like a leaf on the river. Bend to its will."

"We'll try," Ayumu responded.

"May your gods favor your journey. You'll be in my thoughts and dreams," Shepherd told him.

"Uh, okay. Thanks, I think," Yusei responded before she turned back to her task at hand. The two siblings turned and headed down the tunnel they came through and to the waiting boat.


	11. Onor Hileriss

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 11: Onor Hileriss

Yusei and Ayumu stepped into the city from the docks. As they began to walk, Ayumu commented, "Now we need to find the City Green and get to Abnaxus' Abode. That'll be easy."

"Though I have a feeling getting in won't be as easy," Yusei responded.

"I have to admit, I wish Crow was here. It's a bit lonely without him around," Ayumu commented. He looked at her. "I mean, you're here, so that helps. But he's a good friend to have, y'know?" Yusei grinned and nodded.

Just as they got to the first stairwell heading to the City Green, they saw Crow on the wall's post. The bird exclaimed, "You're back! And your heads are still on! Did you swim?"

"No, they dropped us off in a boat," Yusei explained.

"Impressive. So, what's the next step on our grand adventure? Tea and biscuits? A hardy nap, perhaps?" Crow asked.

"We need to find the City Green and the home of Abnaxus," Ezra answered.

"I visit the City Green every day to clean my feathers in the fountain. Follow me!" Crow called. They walked a bit farther before Crow stated, "I really wish you had wings."

"Same," Ayumu responded. Yusei merely grinned. He had to admit, being here was nice. And having Ayumu around again just felt right.

He then turned serious and asked Crow, "Hey, are you… alright?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" Crow replied.

"I mean… April and…" Ayumu stopped.

"Of course I'm not okay, okay? But I'm okay. I'll be okay. It's okay. We're okay. Don't worry about it, okay?" Crow responded.

"Okay," Yusei agreed.

"She's not the first friend I lost, and she won't be the last. You learn to roll with the punches," Crow told him. "It's either that, or punch back. Real hard." They walked, or flew on Crow's side of things, until they stopped near the green area when Crow asked, "How's your memory coming along? Do you remember anything about this place now?"

"This place? Everything's back," Yusei answered. Ayumu nodded. "It was winter."

"True. Winter changes everything, with the snow and the ice and all," Crow agreed.

"The city also looked… different. Smaller," Ayumu added.

"Yeah, it probably has grown a bit," Crow agreed.

They walked to the stairs heading down to the Abode. That's when they noticed three men at the door. One, the two Dreamers recognized as the discriminator they saw from when he arrived. The other two were hooded and cloaked.

"What's going on here? Are they…?" Ayumu trailed off. Yusei sighed knowing the truth. "Great," Ayumu stated sarcastically. They two walked down to the bottom of the staircase while Crow landed on a barrel at the corner of the staircase.

"So this is it, huh? Abode of… big, ugly thing who speaks funny?" the bird asked.

"Seems so," Yusei replied.

"And there's someone else here?" Crow questioned.

"Yep," Yusei answered a bit down.

"Huh," was all Crow responded with.

Yusei and Ayumu walked closer and heard the man who wasn't cloaked and was obviously the leader say, "Once this unholy tree is knocked down, the electorate will take me seriously. They'll see I have the power to get things done. Maybe then I can stop licking the arses of the Azadi. 'Goddess' this and 'Goddess' that. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth, sucking up to their feminine deity. Give me a world without gods and goddesses. A world ruled by humans and true Northlanders. No magicals, no supernatural womenfolk, no superstitious invaders. A world by and for man, and woman at her rightful place: At home." Ayumu rolled her eyes in annoyance while Yusei lightly shook his head in his own annoyance. The man then yelled at the one chopping at the tree, "Go on! Put your back into it, man! It's merely a tree!"

Yusei waved for Ayumu to talk to this man and they walked up to him. "Hey," Ayumu greeted trying to be friendly.

The man turned. "Ah! Members of the voting public!" he greeted back. "Onor Hileriss, esquire, at your service, good people! But, I'm sure I don't need to introduce myself to you, hmm? You've seen my face in print and public appearances. You know me as an honorable and truthful fellow who stands with the common man!" Ayumu raised an eyebrow. "And woman. We shan't forget the common woman. Yes, yes. I am, of course, running for commissioner of City Watch, a position sorely and desperately in need of new blood. The Watch needs strength! It needs direction! It needs humanity! In other words, it needs me."

"Why are you trying to knock down the tree?" Yusei asked. "I… heard it was a historical landmark."

"Oh, it's not just a tree. It's an affront to common decency and humanity! This so-called domicile was the dark and dangerous den of one of the most militant of all magicals. An abominable beast that threatened our young and our women by mere existence!" Onor retorted. "Eradicating this occult stone tree from our historic green is not just my election promise to voters, but my god given responsibility as a human being!"

"I'm not saying magicals are all good and great, but don't you think you're being a bit harsh on the magicals. What if what you heard and believe is incorrect? And once people realize it and you're commisioner, what'll happen to you? I'm sure there are magicals out there who want to live in peace with humans, right?" Ayumu asked.

"I can see your viewpoint, young las," Onor responded. "But how much do you know about magicals and what they've done? They torched Oldtown, for one."

"Sir, I understand that's what you've heard from the Azadi, right?" Yusei responded. He nodded. "Did you know that the magicals treasured Oldtown? It wasn't just a home to them. But there were landmarks there that they held precious. The only reason I know this is because when Oldtown was still running and open, I had talked with a few magicals in there. I was curious to see what they felt like being forced to live there. And if they felt fine living there as they said, would they really burn it and be forced to leave? That's my only question about all this."

"Hmm… Perhaps that is true. The Azadi do have certain, hidden goals by what I've seen," Onor responded. "Nevertheless, we don't know enough about magicals to assume anything, do we?"

"That's a matter of opinion, but we do see your point," Yusei responded. "Anyway, we'd better get going. Good luck with everything you're going to do."

"Luck is the lazy man's excuse for failure. Luck is an occult idea. I create my own destiny, young man, and so should you!" Onor retorted. "And remember, a vote for Onor is a vote for humanity!"

The two walked back to Crow who was still on the barrel while Onor and his friends continued to try to chop down the tree that was protected by magic. Yusei and Ayumu sighed. Yusei was just thankful to tell that Onor did honestly see what they were saying and did take it to heart. But they still needed him and his associates to move.

Yusei got an idea, though. "Crow, do you think you could fly onto Onor for a moment?"

"Why?" the bird asked.

"Just trust me," Yusei replied.

"Why?" the bird responded.

"Crow," Yusei called sternly.

"Alright! Pardon me for wanting to play a role in my own destiny. I'll do it!" he gave in. He landed on Onor's head who began to try to get him off. But Crow took off before he could get touched, exclaiming, "Geronimo!"

"A talking bird?! Filthy magic!" Onor exclaimed trying to catch him. He began to look around for Crow. "Damnation! Where did it go?" Yusei walked to the man. "That godsdamned talking bird… Magical aberration! If I get my hands on that filthy feathered thing, I'll twist its scrawny, little- Ah, language, language. What can I do for you, young man?"

"About that talking bird that's been bothering you…" Yusei began.

"Yes? What about it?" Onor asked.

"I saw it," Yusei answered bluntly.

"Where? Where?!" the man pressed. Yusei pointed towards a wagon with three stacked crates on it. "That filthy chattering fowl must be over there somewhere." He ordered the cloaked man not chopping at the tree, "Go check!"

Yusei hurried to Crow who was back at the barrel he was on before. "Can you head over there?" he asked.

"Again?! Seriously?! Ugh! Fine," Crow agreed before flying over. When Crow landed, Onor threw a stone and it hit the top barrel. The black, talking bird moved out of the way just as the barrel fell of Onor's accomplice and knocked him out.

"Soft-headed fool!" Onor exclaimed as he and his other friend with the axe walked to the passed out man. He sighed. "We'll need to carry him home to have someone look at his head. The tree will have to wait until tomorrow." He ordered his friend, "You do the carrying. I'd do it myself but someone needs to lead the way and keep an eye out for… potholes." The three men were then gone.

"Nice, Yusei!" Ayumu praised, a bit quietly.

They walked to the wagon where Crow met him and exclaimed, "That was brilliant! First I did my thing, and then goofball tried to hit me with a rock, and then stuff happened and dung-for-brains got knocked out, and then they all left! And… scene. It was almost like one of those puppet shows that wizard puts on in the square. It was hilarious!"

"I'm happy you enjoyed it," Yusei told him. "I would've tried talking to him again. But it seemed useless and I thought I should give you something to do."

"Yeah, that was the most fun I've had since… since…" he stopped. He then continued though, soon enough, "I don't know. I guess since I hung out with April, all those many years ago."

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Crow," Ayumu told him. The bird nodded and the half siblings turned. They walked to the door before using the key to enter it.


	12. A Venar's Abode

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 12: A Venar's Abode

It was quite a bit bigger on the inside than it seemed from when you look at it on the outside. "Okay, this is weird. I feel… dizzy."

Yusei nodded. "There must be magic here, because this makes no sense. Things can't be bigger on the inside than on the outside. Then again, why am I surprised? I've seen things that people would see as weird. It's practically normal for me. But right now, we need to look for clues."They walked around and until Yusei called as found a round, circle book with a design on it, "Ayumu, look at this." She ran over and Yusei opened it and began to read it.

"Oh, that's interesting…" came a voice from behind him.

"Who's-?" Yusei began closing the book and flipping around.

They saw a man standing there and Ayumu exclaimed in shock as she jumped a bit as soon as she caught sight of him, "Jesus Christ!" Yusei placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I must apologize, young lady. I didn't mean to frighten you," the man responded. The two young adults couldn't help but note something familiar about the man. The man before him suddenly seemed to realize something. "Yusei Fudo and Ayumu Honda! You're the last two people I expected to find here."

That's when the two remembered who this man was. He was there on their last visit to Marcuria and Arcadia. "Brian, right?" Yusei responded.

"Right. Brian. Brian Westhouse," the man replied. "We spent a few days in cramped quarters on a small airship, I'd be surprised if you didn't remember me."

"It's been a confusing past few years," Ayumu told him. "For a while, we had completely forgotten about Arcadia. But, now we do remember everything."

"I know that feeling all too well, Ms. Honda," Brian agreed. "So you're back in Marcuria! And this place of all places… How in the name of the Balance did you get inside? People have been trying for years, but this house has strong wards. Venar magic, the oldest there is. And now I understand why, it's a treasure trove."

"It's helpful when you have a key," Ayumu replied. "We didn't know it was supposed to be as difficult to get in."

"So there was a key all this time. The door wasn't locked by a spell… I knew it! Where did you…?" he trailed off.

"A… friend. Just luck," Yusei answered the unfinished question.

"So, what're you looking for here? The ambassador disappeared more than ten years ago, as I'm sure you know," Brian asked.

"We were… curious," Ayumu lied. "I mean, something like this is bound to have something interesting inside it."

"You know what they say about curiosity, Ms. Honda," Brian responded.

"It killed the cat?" Yusei guessed.

"What? No! Curiosity is the doorway to knowledge and wisdom!" Brian replied. "Looks like I picked the perfect day for a stroll in the green. I was wondering why that odorous Hileriss fellow wasn't still trying to chop this tree down. Now I know. Let's see if we can find anything interesting, shall we?" He noticed the book behind Yusei. "Wait, is that the Annals of Dreaming? Good God, that's a lost treasure! Only five were ever made. Mind if I take a look?" Yusei moved out of the way as Brian began to look at the book that the two had been just moments ago.

The young Dreamers began to look around when Yusei found a note on one of the shelves. He turned to the other side of the tree and noticed Ayumu pick up a couple other notes on the ground in separate area. The last one had far more writing on it. Yusei and Ayumu turned to Brian finding nothing else and asked the man, "Hey, any clue on these things?" Yusei handed the man the first note.

"Hmm, I'm not sure there's much to learn from that one," Brian replied reading it.

"We have a couple more. What about this one?" Yusei followed bringing out the other note.

"Same thing, really," Brian answered.

"This one?" Ayumu suggest handing it over.

" _ **The First Dreamer. References in the Annal of Dreaming**_ -" he stopped reading and exclaimed, "That's this book right here!" He then continued to read it, " _ **And the chapter 'About the First Dream'.**_ " He looked at them. "It's certainly is a starting point. Let's see what it says."

They turned to the book in front of them on the desk. "Can you read that?" Ayumu asked.

"I've lived in Arcadia for decades, and there isn't much to do aside from studying ancient texts, so… yes, I can read this book," Brian explained. "Let's see… the chapter in question speaks about the Oular. They are said to be the 'Wardens of the Dreaming One', whatever that means. It's a rough translation. The Japanese language isn't quite up to the task. The Oular and the… the Yehte? One people that split into two. That sounds familiar. It says the Yehte left the Purple Mountains to go south, to burrow into the ground. Something about a Well of Dreams. I mean, I don't know how much of this is true and how much of this is fantasy or prophecy. It's a difficult book to decipher. There's… There is also something about three Dreamers becoming one. It's vague. This is almost certainly a prophecy of some sort. The Oular live on Cloud Peak, in the mountains of Yehdra. Where's that on the map? Ah, there it is," Brian pointed to it. "Straight north, across the plains, right in the middle of the Border Mountains. This is an old book, so I don't know if they still live there. I've never heard of the Oular. They might all be dead."

Yusei took the map to borrow it until he could give it back on Cloud Peak. _'This is what we're was looking for! It shows the way to the Purple Mountains!'_ He looked at the ground and noticed a note. _'Must've fallen out of the book when Brian turned the pages.'_ He picked it up and looked at the drawing of a pink stone. He read it a bit before he showed it to Brian. "This note fell out of the pages of the Annals. What's a 'soul-stone'?"

"I'm not sure," Brian answered. He then read, " _ **The soul-stone was taken from Lux by the Warlock Klax. It must be retriev'd or the past, present, and future will cease to be.**_ "

"That doesn't sound good," Yusei commented.

"It doesn't, indeed. I don't about any soul-stone, but I'm guessing this 'Klax' fellow does," Brian responded. "I wonder if Abnaxus meant Roper Klacks." He looked at the two half siblings there. "April told me his story. He was a two-bit wizard who resided in a floating castle up north, near the Border Mountains. April said she taught him a lesson. She didn't get into any details, but he lost his castle. Last I heard, he's doing children's theatre here in town. Reformed, apparently. If that's a thing a wizard is capable of. It sounds like this soul-stone is important."

"Alright, thanks," Yusei responded.

The two Dreamers began to walk out of the Abode when Brian called, "You're going. But, would you mind terribly if I stayed here to read these books?"

"Well, this is- It's private property, isn't it?" Ayumu asked.

"Abnaxus isn't coming back and I've been itching for a chance to peruse his library for years now," Brian replied. "I promise, I won't remove anything or make a mess."

"Sorry, but I don't think we should let you stay in here," Yusei responded, getting a sense something was off..

"I'm not sure I need your permission," Brian retorted.

"Uh…" Ayumu trailed off. Yusei tensed a bit. Something was definitely off.

Brian chuckled. "Only joking. I understand. I'll take my leave now, Mr. Fudo, Ms. Honda. I certainly hope we see each other again soon," he stated. He then walked out. Yusei and Honda soon followed.


	13. Klacks

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 13: Klacks

Yusei and Ayumu found Crow sitting on a couple crates just outside the doorways to Abnaxus' Abode. "Hey, Crow. Didn't you say something about a wizard and a puppet show?" Yusei asked the bird.

"Nope," Crow answered.

"You did. You said something about a show in the square-" Ayumu was cut off.

"I did not," Crow denied.

"Crow…" Yusei muttered.

"Oh! Right, right! Roper Klacks' Fingerlings!" the bird exclaimed. "Man, that show's great. A modern classic."

"Klacks… He's the wizard April Ryan fought?" Ayumu asked.

"That's right. He was behaving badly, so she fought him and trapped him in some sort of calculating machine. Pretty clever stuff," Crow replied.

"Where is the puppet show?" Yusei asked.

"I'll show you," Crow answered and flew off with the two following.

They soon arrived at the puppet show where Yusei and Ayumu walked behind the board wall separating him from the audience and stepped up to Roper who said, not looking at him, "If you seek an autograph, you must purchase my book first. It's on sale today, only-" Yusei cut him off.

"No, sorry. We need to talk to you," the male Dreamer stated.

"Talk, hmm?" Roper responded and finally looked at them. "Well, I only have a few minutes before my show begins, but I am sure I can spare a couple of them for a smart, young man and woman like you."

"So, you're show is called 'The Fingerlings'?" Ayumu asked.

"Ah, my beloved finger puppets! Beloved by all! Children and critics alike!" Roper replied. "Gilbert Grutton of the Daily Marcurian called my show 'simply astonishing', and wrote that it was 'quite impossible to look away', 'I couldn't believe my eyes', and 'like a slow-motion cart wreck'. You see, the Fingerlings represent a revolution in finger-puppeteering. Or, as I call it, fingering. Trademark and patent pending. The women in particular are quite ecstatic about it. Stay for the show! I guarentee a good time!"

"Do you remember April Ryan?" Yusei asked.

"April Ry- Oh, yes, of course, absolutely, certainly, naturally. That bitch-" he stopped himself before correcting, "The brave young woman who came to my castle and stole-And helped me put my sorcerous past behind me. How could I possibly forget?"

"About April-" Klacks cut Ayumu off.

"Why? Why does everyone talk about April Ryan? She was just a weak little human who stumbled into things she didn't-" he stopped himself again and corrected himself, "No, no, no, no, I must apologize. You see, April and I had some disagreements in the past. I'm past that now. I'm a different person. As for April Ryan… I hear she suffered an ignoble death at the hands of our Azadi benefactors. What a shame. What a terrible, terrible shame."

"Okay…" Yusei muttered, getting a bit unsure. "You are Roper Klacks, the wizard, right?"

"Who told you that?" Roper asked.

"Well, that sign for one," Ayumu answered.

"No! The… The wizard part! Who told you?" Roper retorted. "I mean, I am merely a humble finger-puppeteer trying to make an honest living in a cold and heartless world."

"But you _were_ a wizard," Ayumu pressed.

"Fully rehabilitated! I don't go anywhere near… sorcery. Not anymore," the wizard retorted. "You should really read my highly acclaimed and bestselling memoir, 'Farewell to my Wizardin' Ways'! It's a thrilling story of redemption and romance, of dashing heroes and wicked villainesses, of flying castles and curious calculating devices! Every word of it is true as the night is dark and the day is bright, of course."

"Do you recall owning a soul-stone?" Yusei asked.

"A… soul-stone? I-I don't know what you're talking about," Roper replied nervously.

"We were just wondering since there are so many impressive tales about your power where I come from," Ayumu lied.

"And where would that be?" Roper asked.

"Uh-" Ayumu was about to lie again but the wizard cut her off.

"That was a long time ago, in another life. I've moved on. I'm a different person now… in every way," Roper told him.

"We were just wondering what happened to the stone," Yusei responded.

"She took it, that… bitch," Roper answered. "Balance! Pardon me! I don't know where that came from."

"Who took it?" Ayumu pressed.

"The Yaga. 'The Wicked Witch of the North', as the simpletons call Her. As if they have any idea who and what She truly is…" Roper explained. "She lurks in Riverwood, in the dark places. She feeds on that stone like a-" He cleared his throat for a moment. "Like I said, that's in the past and I've left it behind, long ago. Now I make an honest living bringing joy to children through my most excellent and revolutionary finger-puppet-theatre. And on that note, I must beg your pardon, young ones. The show is about to begin!"

"Can we talk again after? We have some more question-" Yusei was cut off.

"Sure, sure, sure. Absolutely. After the show. After the show. Yes, yes, yes," Roper agreed. "Toodeloo!" The two Dreamers both smirked as Roper went to begin his show. They walked to the audience rows in front of the "stage" and watched as the rehabilitated wizard began the show, "Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Humans and- well, humans! And you Azadi soldiers standing over there. You're welcome to watch. Just don't rattle your sabers or rustle your suits. Welcome to this morning's performance of… The Fingerlings!" The curtain opened to show hands with small people puppets on his fingers making Ayumu hold down a laugh. "I am your host and puppeteer, Roper Klacks, esteemed thespian and raconteur, author and entrepreneur, my book is available to purchase with free, personalized dedication, speak to me after the show. A donation is both appreciated and expected, drop your coins into the box after the show, remember that every iron piece goes to a good purpose."

' _I wonder to what "good purpose",'_ Yusei thought.

"My beloved Fingerlings! Handcrafted reproductions of renowned actors from across Arcadia, immortalized in finger-puppet-form by skilled artisans," Roper continued, "using only the finest fabrics and natural materials, these lovely creatures are as dear to me as children, and as talented and protean as the finest human players! You're all welcome to approach the stage after the show, of course, to admire my finely crafted miniatures up close and intimately, no food, no touching, no children." The curtain closed again. "And now, beloved audience, prepare yourselves for a journey into mystery! For a true story of wizardry and magic! I present to you… the Tale of the Good-Hearted Wizard and the Villainous Wench!" The curtains opened again to show a different scenery. "Once upon a time, in the distant north, there lived a kindly old wizard in a wonderful flying castle." He brought up a finger puppet of himself. "This very friendly wizard liked to tease and toy with the people of the land, and… sometimes he would do silly things like turn them into stone or furry animals, or bottle up the wind. Naturally, he meant no harm and the people of the land loved the wizard like they would a grandfather. A very young and very, very handsome grandfather. But one day, an evil sorceress from a distant land came to visit the kindly wizard. This ugly, selfish witch didn't understand that the wizard was only trying to make people happy. She used her dark sorcery to steal all of his possessions and trap him inside a tiny little box where the gentle wizard was barely able to breathe. The poor old man was trapped for many moons inside this box, before a benevolent wandering god arrived to free him from his prison. The wizard pledged total allegiance to the wandering god in return for vengeance against the cruel witch who trapped him. Together, they-"

He was cut off by Onor calling with a obviously commanding Azadi, "There he is, commander. The dangerous loon who's corrupting our youth with his occult fingerings!" The soldiers went and grabbed Roper who tried to refuse arrest.

The commander stated, "You're teaching children of magic, old man. You ought to know better." Roper was taken away.

"Wait," Ayumu called. Yusei looked at her alert and worried. "He wasn't teaching kids about magic. He was just telling a tale, a story. Is there really something wrong with telling a story to kids?"

"What would you know, girl? You're just a child," the commander retorted. "You don't know anything about the world, yet."

"Believe me, we know more than you think," Yusei retorted. The commander glared warningly before walking off with Roper being taken away. The group of people that were watching also seemed upset that Roper was arrested.


	14. Elgwan to Ride

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 14: Elgwan to Ride

Crow landed on the edge of the stage and looked at Yusei and Ayumu. "I did not see that coming," Ayumu commented.

"I guess the Azadi aren't fans of creepy puppet shows either," Crow responded.

"I think it had more to do with him being a wizard. But what now? He was our only lead to the soul-stone," Ayumu told the bird. "All we have is something about a 'Yaga' and Riverwood."

"Riverwood? I know Riverwood. I've been to Riverwood! If it's Riverwood you need, I know how to get to Riverwood," Crow responded.

"Really? And what about the Yaga? The Wicked Witch?" Yusei asked.

"I don't know anything about Yagas, but I do know something about witches in Riverwood. On my last trip there, we had a close encounter with one of them," Crow replied. "That witch is toast, of course, but I can probably find my way back to Riverwood. It's north. We go north! Wait, which way is up? Yeah, north!"

"Alright. That's something, at least. Better than nothing," Ayumu responded. "We just need to find a way to go north that doesn't involve us walking all the way."

"Or me flying. I'm not flying all that way. I tire easily," Crow responded. "Wait, I feel a cunning plan coming on. Follow me, guys!"

"Uh…" Ayumu muttered getting a bad feeling.

"It's either a cunning plan, or I need the toilet. But I'm sure it's a cunning plan!" Crow responded.

"Alright," Ayumu agreed and the two followed the bird.

They neared the animal Crow was thinking of and when Crow explained his plan, Yusei said, "Why don't you just let me talk to him? It's better than putting on a serious lie like that and risk creating enemies. I appreciate the idea, though."

"That honestly makes a lot more sense!" Crow exclaimed.

Yusei walked up to the man who was the own of the Elgwan, which he learned they were called. The bird and female Dreamer stayed back. The man greeted him cheerily.

"Nice Elgwans you have here," Yusei complimented.

"Oh, I would hope so. I raise them with love and care, as they so rightfully deserve," the man responded. "Are you an Elgwan farmer as well?"

"I'm afraid not. But I have seen and learned about other Elgwans. So I know a bit about them and how they should be if they're taken care of properly. And it really looks like you have been. It must be nice to have some great Elgwan like that."

"It really is. And it's nice to know there is another Elgwan lover out there as well," the man responded.

"Speaking of Elgwan, I'm looking for a ride out of town for a bit. Do you mind if I borrow one of your Elgwan?" Yusei asked. "It's a far walk where I'm going, so riding an Elgwan would make it easier."

"Your girlfriend over there riding with you?" the man asked with a grin.

"She's my younger sister and yes. My family live out a few days walk north from here," Yusei half-lied. "I understand if you want to keep your Elgwan with you, but I-"

"Oh, go ahead and take this girl. Her name's Daisy," the man called bringing over a Elgwan. He put on a couple saddles for Yusei and Ayumu. "I think anyone who has a right mind of an Elgwan like the two of us should be able to ride any Elgwan we want when we want it. Be warned, she gets spooked pretty easily. So if something happens and she gets scared, she'll run back here. But I'll understand if she does."

"Thank you, sir," Yusei responded. "I really appreciate this."

"Not a problem, my good man. I hope to see you another day," the man responded. Yusei gently took the Elgwan and brought her over to his sister and friends.

"Nice play, Yusei," Ayumu whispered as they walked off.

Yusei helped her onto the front saddle, saying, "Just got to word it right." He got on behind her and they began to move forward, with Crow sitting on the creature's head.

"That was very impressive, Yusei. You lied and didn't lie at the same time," Crow commented as they exited town. "A good way to not make any serious enemies."

"At least we have a ride," Yusei responded. "Can we really trust this thing?"

"They're docile cows, the Elgwan. Just leave it to me," Crow replied. He flipped around so he was facing forward and called to the creature, "Mush, Daisy! Mush!" It growled at him and Yusei and Ayumu could feel a bit of annoyance off the Elgwan.

"Uh, easy, Crow. I think you're upsetting her," Ayumu told the bird.

"I'll, uh, I'll leave the cowboying to you. I'll fly ahead and scout the terrain instead," Crow responded. "Don't lose sight of me!" He then took to the air with that.


	15. Ben-Bandu

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 15: Ben-Bandu

They soon came into a large forest. Birds' chirps sounded out in the air and trees' leaves were rustling in the wind. The sun's light shined through the trees' leaves, creating a vibrant, delicate design on the ground. Crow was back on the head of the Elgwan with Yusei and Ayumu on its back. Suddenly, the Elgwan began to freak out and tossed the two humans and Crow off of it before running away. Ayumu and Yusei landed on either side of each other somehow, not that they minded that at all.

"Well, that hurt," Ayumu commented as they brushed themselves off.

"Never trust an Elgwan! Cowardly cows," Crow responded.

"Something spooked it. What next?" Yusei asked.

"This place looks familiar," Crow replied. "I think we're close. I think we're-"

Crow was cut off as a small, furry creature that looked similar to a walking, talking, clothed mole came up, yelling, "Leave! Go! I'll call the others!" His voice sounded so young. Not like a child, but like a young teenager.

"Whoa, hey! We're friendly," Ayumu assured. "We're not going to hurt you."

"You're human. You can't be friend-" he stopped. He noticed Crow. "Bird? Crow bird?"

"Hello," was all Crow responded with. But suddenly, he seemed to realize something. "Hey, you're that fretful, furry thing we met the first time we came through here. Ben… Franklin?"

"Ben-Bandu. This isn't the same human who accompanied last time; there are actually two of them now," Ben-Bandu replied.

"They are my new humans. They're mostly harmless," Crow responded. "Say hello, Yusei, Ayumu. Don't be rude."

"Uh, hi," Ayumu greeted.

"Hey," Yusei followed.

"Hello. Are you the new Bandu-Embata?" Ben-Bandu asked.

"Bamboo-what? No? I have no idea. I'm Ayumu," the female half sibling replied.

"You're Dreamers," Ben-Bandu realized.

"So they keep saying. We're not very good at it," Yusei responded. "How did you know that?"

"We live close to the Dreaming here. Her dreams surround us," Ben-Bandu replied. "The Yaga."

"That's it! That's the one we're looking for, right, guys? The Yaga!" Crow exclaimed.

"You're… You're looking for the Yaga? On purpose?!" Ben-Bandu responded astonished. "Are you mad?"

"Oh, I'm not. Those two, I'm not so sure about," Crow replied.

"Hey!" Ayumu retorted to Crow. Yusei sighed and returned his attention to Ben-Bandu with Ayumu. "You know the Yaga?"

"She lives in this forest. We do not speak Her name. She's… She's mean," the creature replied.

"Can you take us to her?" Yusei asked.

"You are mad! She doesn't like visitors! She eats visitors!" Ben-Bandu retorted.

"Sounds friendly. But we don't have a choice. She has the soul-stone," Yusei responded. "Besides, we can take care of ourselves, trust me."

"The soul-stone? I've heard of the soul-stone. The Yaga took it from the fallen fortress of her warlock," Ben-Bandu responded.

"Warlock? Roper Klacks worked for the Yaga?" Crow asked.

"They all did. The Gribbler, Klacks, all the evil witches and warlocks of the Northlands. But they're gone now… just like my people," Ben-Bandu explained. "April Ryan imprisoned the warlock and killed the witch. She saved us all, but then… Then the Azadi came with sharp blades and metal tubes that spewed fire. They murdered most of us. Some fled east. I'm the only one left here now."

"The more I get to know the Azadi, the more I get to wanting them gone," Yusei responded. Ayumu nodded. "I'm sorry about that, Ben-Bandu."

"One day they'll come back, all the surviving Banda. Until then, I watch over their burrows. And I sing. For them. For all of us," Ben-Bandu explained, letting the two somewhat newcomers know his species was called a Banda. "This soul-stone… It's important?"

"Very," Ayumu answered.

"You'll use it to fight the Azadi?" Ben-Bandu questioned, seeming hopeful.

"That's part of it, yes," Yusei replied, but he wasn't sure how much he could keep that answer true.

"I'll take you to the Yaga. Or, as close as I dare go to Her lair, anyways," Ben-Bandu responded, finally agreeing to helping them.

"Great," Crow responded sarcastically. "I was expecting you to say no. And by 'expecting' I mean 'hoping'."

Ben-Bandu looked at Yusei and Ayumu. "Does the bird always speak like that?" he asked them.

"Unfortunately," Ayumu answered. "Lead the way, Ben." He and Crow then followed the Banda to a ridge where the small creature stopped.

"The Yaga's beyond the ridge. Once you cross that, you're in Her realm," Ben-Bandu told the two travelers.

"You're not coming?" Yusei questioned.

"Did you not hear me when I said She was hungry?" Ben-Bandu retorted. "No, I'm not coming with you. The walls of that place are thin, and she can smell my magic."

"A wise decision, tiny man," Crow responded. "Come on, you guys. Let's turn around and head back with Ben-Ben. Maybe catch a fat squirrel and roast it for dinner."

"This is what we came here for! If we don't get the soul-stone-" Ayumu was cut off.

"Everyone dies, the world ends, no more Christmases, blah, blah, blah," Crow finished in annoyance. "I'm so sick of walking into one perilous scenario after another. After we're done with this one, no more adventures, I swear to the feathered gods of old."

"You said you were going to stay before we first left the Journeyman Inn and still came along," Ayumu responded with a grin. Crow sighed in defeat.

Ben-Bandu then said turning the three's attention to the Banda, "You'll know you're there when you see the Gribbler's old house. She was the witch who lived here before. The Gribbler served the Yaga, and that's where She came through from the Beyond."

"Will you wait for us, Ben?" Ayumu asked.

"I'll wait until nightfall, but if you're not back by then…" he trailed off.

"Don't worry, we'll be back," Yusei assured.

"And I had such a craving for a crispy squirrel," Crow commented before following the two Dreamers in.


	16. Her Lair

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 16: Her Lair

The Dreamers and bird slowly walked through the dark corridors of the walkway. There was some light here and there, but not much. As they reached a turn, over a dozen black birds sprang up and flew off making Crow exclaim, "Mother of ravens! I don't feel very welcome. I mean, this isn't just a bad sign. It's all the bad signs, all at once. Like a grab-bag of ill omens. There are plenty of stones lying about. Let's just pick one and pretend it's the soul-stone. It's not like anyone would know what it's supposed to look like." Yusei sighed at Crow's cowardliness.

They continued to walk forward. They passed over a bridge and walked through a gate. As soon as they passed through, though, it slammed shut, freaking Crow out more. Suddenly, they heard young voices whispering, "Go… Leave… Turn around! Don't come any further… She's here… She's dangerous…"

The two finally turned the last corner to see a large area. Crow had somehow disappeared, but the two humans knew he was fine. A house was in the distance and had a bridge leading to it over shallow, murky water with large, spiked stones poking out from the ground. Around the area were blue lights that seemed like souls.

"I feel strange," Ayumu commented.

"I remember, back when I was in the coma with you and when you were in that coma entirely…" Yusei began and Ayumu nodded, recalling it. "It's like Storytime. We must be on the Border between waking and dreams.'

"The Wicked Witch is gone. But She is here now…" continued the voices. "She'll eat you up… Like She ate all of us… She tricked us… She trapped us… She cooked us… She ate us… We're the children that never left…" Yusei and Ayumu moved weeds out of the way of a door that led into the house. "It's too late to save us… Save yourself! Go!"

However, the two Dreamers ignored their warnings and knocked on the door. A powerful voice that echoed with three different voices yelled, "Who bothers me?! Who bothers the Yaga?!"

"Okay, not just a house after all," Ayumu muttered.

Yusei then called to the voices, "You have something that isn't yours."

"Leave monkeys," the Yaga ordered.

"Not until you give us the soul-stone," Ayumu defied.

"We do not know what you speak of," the Yaga denied.

"Whoa, my whole body's tingling," Ayumu commented looking at her hands and arms with Yusei. They both noticed the same marks glowing on their arms.

"These are the marks from Storytime that we had. We can change things. We can manipulate this dream," Yusei commented. "I know what we have to do. I think." Ayumu nodded, obviously able to tell what he's thinking. Yusei took a deep breath and sensed out, using his re-found power. "There are… three minds in there. But which one is the Yaga's? I can hear several voices, all of them are angry. It's so loud and strong. I can't… I can't keep listening. She's too strong." Suddenly a voice yelled out in fury before the house moved out from the ground and was found to be on top of a giant, carnivorous looking creature's head that had six eyes. It roared and snarled at them.

"We are at the end of things," came the three voices. It went to bite them, but instead the long bottom tip of its jaw pressed against them and pushed them into a stone spike. "I warned you."

"Just… let us go!" Ayumu ordered. She used her light abilities as began to press her back off of them with Yusei. Thanks to the light ability, the door on her head snapped off and was thrown off making her roar back in pain.

"I told you to leave," she stated. She suddenly, began to hang her head. "Now I feed!" However, as she got close enough, Yusei and Ayumu jumped up and landed next to the doorway. The Yaga tried flinging them off, but they held on before flinging themselves into the doorway.

 **Sorry about it being so short!**


	17. The Three Sisters

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 17: The Three Sisters

Inside, it was all darkness with a pink-purple stone standing in the distance. "This is great," Ayumu commented sarcastically.

"The sky… it looks strange, too. Like Storytime's but... Older," Yusei added. They began to walk forward and towards the stone. Just as they were about to reach it, it transported farther away. The two Dreamers followed it slowly and cautiously.

"Aren't you a couple of clever monkeys?" stated one female voice.

"Hush, sister. Don't speak to them. Just let them lose themselves in the darkness. It'll weaken and then we can eat them," stated another female voice.

"They'll probably taste honey sweet, like a couple of newborn babes," the first responded.

"Do not underestimate these ones, sisters. There's something different about them," a third told the other two.

"Hello?" Ayumu called getting nervous.

"It'll be fine, Ayumu," Yusei whispered to her. "Just stay calm." She nodded, obviously calming down. They got near the stone again but it just bounced away as what was seeming to be usual.

"Maybe not so clever after all," the third stated.

"We're hungry. We need to eat it," the second commented.

"Not long now. You must be tired, monkeys. Your eyes grow heavy. Sleep, we'll watch over you," the first suggested.

"Come out!" Yusei ordered.

They continued to follow the stone and the second asked, "Is it not asleep yet? Lay down and shut your eyes, monkeys. Let us feed!"

"No," Ayumu refused.

"Not gonna happen," Yusei followed.

The first gasped. "They answer back, like things with a mind of their own. Very clever monkeys," she stated.

"These ones have spirit. And something else. Something powerful," the third stated.

The two Dreamers got close to it and Yusei was about to pick it up since it didn't move for the moment. But in the next, it shot away and a giant face of a younger woman appeared. In the first voice, she stated, "You're Dreamers."

"And you're the Wicked Witch of-" Ayumu was cut off by her.

"Now, now. There's no need for insults. We are-" she stopped before red light shown and the three voices said, "the Yaga." The first then commented, "No monkey has ever been here before. We're curious about you."

"We?" Yusei questioned not seeing anyone else.

The face then turned to another, different face seeming a bit older. "The Sisters," she answered.

It returned to the first, younger one. "Baeb," she stated.

"Ayea," stated the second.

"Gh'aa," stated the third, changing to an elder looking face.

"Baeb, Ay-" Yusei began to list but realized something. "Baba Yaga."

It returned to the first. "Older than time. Older than memory. Old as darkness. Always three," Baeb stated.

Second face. "Not always, sister. In the beginning, Yaga was one. And then everything unraveled," Ayea stated.

Baeb's face. "Light came, worlds were born, monkeys bred and became legions. And the One became Three," she stated.

Ayea's face. "You are from across the Divide. A world ruled by machines," she stated.

"That's right," Ayumu responded. "We are."

Gh'aa's face appeared. "But you're not really here at all. Dreaming," she stated.

"I guess," Yusei answered.

"We thought there was only one Dreamer," Gh'aa commented.

"Well, you were wrong," Ayumu responded, but with a kind voice as to not make the witch angry.

Ayea, "Something made you. That's interesting. We didn't see this coming. We do so love surprises."

Baeb, "What do you want from us, monkey?"

"The soul-stone. You stole it," Yusei answered.

"Lux stole it first. Only fair that we stole it back," Baeb responded. "What do you want with it?"

"To bring it back to where it belongs. To cure Lux. Lux is the-" Ayumu began but couldn't finish due to Ayea cutting her off.

"Lux is the First Dreamer. We know. Oh, we know," she stated. "You cannot teach us things, monkey. We were there in the darkness, in the time before time, before all this terrible brightness, before you monkeys spoiled it. We had the soul-stone then. It fed us and made us strong. But Lux took it so Lux could Dream. We were there when Lux dreamed the First Dream and the stars were born and everything came apart. If we give you the stone, we fade from memory. We will be forgotten. It's all that anchors us when there's no one left to worship and fear us."

"But, they do worship you, don't they? In the city, they built statues to the Wicker Witch," Ayumu told her.

"The Wicker Witch!" they all exclaimed in what seemed like fury.

Ayea then said, "A bedtime story. A spineless fairy tale for nestlings. No one truly fears the Yaga anymore. Our power is diminished."

"I don't know. As much as I would hate to admit it being a Signer, people need darkness. They need to be frightened sometimes. On our world, scary is popular," Yusei responded.

"Playthings, you have. We are less than we were. We remember feeding, our stomachs bloated with flesh and fear," Ayea stated.

"Things change," Ayumu responded. "We know that."

Baeb then suggested, "Maybe, instead of giving you the soul-stone, we eat you up. All your delicious memories, all your dreaming powers. Your soul will keep us warm and sated."

"How's that going to help anyone?" Yusei asked.

"Help? What makes you think we'll help?" Baeb replied. "We owe the universe nothing, monkeys. We owe Lux nothing. Why should we care if the Dream ends? Perhaps if you can give us a little morsel, a taste of you. What can you offer us?"

"Offer?" Ayumu replied.

"A sin. A secret. Something dark. Something you keep deep inside and fear to reveal," Baeb explained.

"I…" Ayumu took a deep breath. "I'm afraid of what my mother is really planning with the Dreamachine. With us."

"Gutless monkey, afraid to face possibilities. The fear is strong. It throbs like a pumping heart. A proper morsel, mouthwatering, but this satisfies no hunger. We want more!" Baeb responded. She looked at Yusei. "What about you?"

Yusei looked down in thought before saying, "A few years ago, a friend of mine and I got into a fight. I wanted to talk to him and fix things, but my frustration of what he did and said wasn't allowing me to. It took over two years for us to make up."

"A strong sense of disappointment and a sense of it being a sin in you," Baeb commented.

"Indeed," Gh'aa agreed.

Ayea then stated, "We will take these little pieces of you. They belongs to us now, and you'll have no memory of them."

"And in exchange, you'll give us the soul-stone?" Ayumu asked.

"We will not. We made no promises. The soul-stone is ours. We need it," Ayea refused.

"If you do that, you won't just be destroying everything and everyone. You'll be alone," Ayumu told them. "I know the feeling of being alone. But who will worship and fear you when they're all gone?"

"So what else can you offer us, monkeys? What can you give of yourself that to prove that this matters?" Baeb asked.

Yusei and Ayumu looked at each other. Yusei then admitted, "We don't know."

"You demand that we give up the thing that feeds us and keeps us warm, and you cannot make a similar sacrifice?" Baeb asked.

"No, we can't. We don't have what you're asking for," Ayumu replied.

Yusei then added, "We're human. We've both made terrible decisions, but we don't linger on those decisions. We move forward and live with the consequences. Shame, anger, disappointment, regret. That's not what feeds us. We survive because we let go, every day. Because we have hope and faith in the future. Not because we look back. That goes for most people. And all I want is to give those people a chance to make their own choices, both good and bad, and carry on living and learning. I know Ayumu's the same. If that's not enough for you, then we have nothing. And if we don't- If we fail to bring the soul-stone to the First Dreamer, Lux dies. The Dream ends. There will be no one around to remember any of us or the choices we've made that brought us here. It all hinges on this moment in time."

Gh'aa then appeared and said, "We know this, little monkey. This is why we are giving you the soul-stone. But you must do one thing for us in return."

"What?" Ayumu asked.

"You must remember us, when the Dream is in you. The world needs us," she answered. "Without the Sisters, without the Yaga, there is no fear. No imagination. Every dream needs a nightmare."

"I don't think either of us would even be able to forget. Even if we tried," Yusei agreed.

Ayumu nodded. "We'll remember you."

Gh'aa, "Good."

Ayea, "Good."

Baeb, "Good." The first of the Sisters pulled out the soul-stone and handed it to Yusei. "Here is the soul-stone. Take it. Use it to wake Lux. We would have done it ourselves, but the Dreamer-monkeys are the only ones with that power. But with two, it must be both of you."

"How do we get to Lux?" Yusei asked.

"Someone's coming. Little furry thing. They will gift you a beast to ride. Go to Lux. You will feel Lux, like a lantern in the dark. Follow the light," Baeb explained. "Save the Dream, Dreamers. Become One with the First."

"What does that mean?" Ayumu asked.

"You'll find out," Baeb answered.

Gh'aa then stated, "And, clever monkeys, beware the wizard of lies."

Baeb then added, "He schemes. He plots. He wishes to remake the world."

Ayea, "He wears a mask. He harbors ambition. He always did. But now-"

Gh'aa, "There's something in him. It's a dangerous thing, little monkeys. Watch out."

Then, all three together said, "Now leave!" They then disappeared.


	18. Mole

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 18: Mole

Yusei and Ayumu slowly walked out of the space and through the door with the soul-stone in hand. Crow landed on a branch next to the rock house. They looked at him a bit surprised.

"Where were you?" Yusei asked the bird.

"I have a thing about huge monster houses. I don't like them," Crow explained.

Ayumu groaned in annoyance. "Anyway…" she trailed off.

"Let's go back and find the furry little halfling-thing again. I bet you he didn't wait for us. I bet you he's long gone," Crow suggested.

A voice then asked, "She's letting us go! What did you do?"

Another said, "We're free!"

Another. "Time to go!"

And a final voice said, "Thank you, Dreamers. Find Lux. Save the Dream." They then went silent as the three living creatures left the area.

When they came out of the gorge, they saw another Banda, only older than Ben-Bandu and was female, on a weird, indescribable creature. The female Banda looked them and then at Ben who was standing on the ground and asked, "Is this the two?"

"That's them. That's Yusei and Ayumu," Ben answered.

"You face Yaga and live. This is un-possible. Who are you?" the Banda asked.

"Who are you?" Ayumu asked back.

"I'm Mole. Not long ago, I was terror of Marcurian underworld. Now I'm last of Banda," she explained. "Together with little one here, of course. So. How you survive Yaga? You strike bargain like witches of old? Sell yourselves to Yaga for freedom and power? Do you serve Yaga now?"

"We don't serve anyone. And no bargain. We just…" Ayumu trailed off.

"Who is the Yaga exactly?" Yusei asked.

"I only know what Elders tell me when I was child, and I only ever encounter Yaga's servants. One of them live in forest, before. She was Gribbler. Twisted, ancient, evil thing," Mole explained. "No one but Yaga know what Yaga truly is. Those who face her never come home. Aside from you. My grandmother tell me Yaga was born before the beginning of time. Lux and Yaga, light and dark. Dream and nightmare. Balance is in everything, humans. When our world take shape, so did Yaga. One became Three. Three sisters. Youth, age, decay. All aspects of life. More than the First Dreamer, Yaga understand life. She understand mortality. Mortality in her blood. Maybe why she hate the living so much, why she grew mean and hungry. She spread her will across the world, into witches and warlocks, sorcerers and necromancers, the weak and the malleable. But as old magic fade, so do Yaga. Wizard Klacks and Gribbler were two of her last servants, and April Ryan defeated them both. After that, they say, Yaga was diminished. Now Wicker Witch of the North is joke to humans of Marcuria. They remember nothing of what she was. They never see their young eaten by night. But Yaga is not the night that threatens world now. Her darkness is different darkness, one that balances light. Necessary darkness. She is nightmare that feeds imagination. The other darkness… Well, other darkness is deeper, final. A black fire that spreads and burns until nothing is left. Until time itself is ashes. Even Yaga fear this darkness."

"I think that's why she let us go. So we can help," Yusei told the elder Banda.

"You got the soul-stone?" Ben asked.

"You carry soul-stone? What soul-stone?" Mole asked.

"You can trust Bandu-Ma-Seri, guys. She is an Elder. She returned from exile to help me find those who survived," Ben told the humans.

"We have Lux's soul-stone. We need to take it north, to the Oular," Ayumu explained.

"Oular? Why Oular?" Mole asked.

"You heard of them?" Yusei replied.

"I heard of Oular, in stories. Ancient people. Inhabit ruins of their own civilization, high in Border Mountains. You know where to go?" Mole explained.

"We've seen a map. They live on Cloud Peak, in the mountains of Yehdra," Ayumu explained.

"Maps deceive. Go north, then west. A week's journey on foot, before you start to climb," Mole responded.

"We don't have a week," Yusei retorted.

"Rushing, rushing. Rushing into things is unwise," Mole responded. "You carry soul-stone to Oular for what reason?"

"To return it to the First Dreamer," Yusei explained.

"Lux is with Oular?" Mole asked.

"So our visions tell us," Yusei answered.

"Your visions…" Mole responded.

"I know it's hard to believe, but we're-" Ayumu began but Mole cut her off.

"I believe. I believe. No need to promise, story too unbelievable for Mole not to believe," she told him. She got off her mount. "Take Leapfur, humans. Ride north, swift as wind. You will reach mountains by first light tomorrow. Leapfur can climb, at least part of way. You'll be with Oular in less than two days."

"She said someone would come. But is that thing safe? We don't know how to ride it," Ayumu responded.

"Not to worry, Leapfur know well enough for both of you," Mole assured.

"What will you do without a mount?" Yusei asked.

"We use feet. Moles not in rush. We walk slowly so that those of Banda who still live can hear us coming and meet us," Mole explained.

"We're going east, Yusei. We're following the Banda who fled the Azadi. Maybe they still live, maybe they-" Mole cut Ben off.

"We will find them, little one," she assured. She looked back at Yusei and Ayumu. "Take beast. Go north. Do what needs doing. I feel darkness coming, black fire. Cold as ocean. Perhaps you can stop this, Dreamers. Nothing lost, nothing gained."

Yusei and Ayumu neared the Leapfur when Ben called, "Goodbye, you guys."

"Thank you, Ben. Good luck, too," Ayumu responded.

"We hope you find your people again," Yusei added. He then boarded the Leapfur in front of Ayumu and took off.


	19. Ruins of the Oular

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 19: Ruins of the Oular

Yusei and Ayumu were climbing up the mountains. Yusei helped Ayumu when she needed it, but they were fine for the most part. Crow was sitting on Ayumu's head. They reached the final ledge and pulled themselves up.

The black bird stated, "Man, that was a steep climb. I'm actually surprised you guys made it this far. To be honest, I was expecting you two to lose foothold and tumble to your death, or for a rockslide, or for one of the ghastly flying things to attack us. I'm really glad I have wings. It's a _long_ way down. If you slip and fall-"

"Thanks, Crow," Yusei interrupted. "That's good enough."

"Happy to help. That's what I'm here for," he responded. "This is comfortable. This is nice! Great views from up here."

"Think you'll be able to get off my head soon?" Ayumu asked as she and Yusei began walk along a path in between the stones. "It's getting itchy."

"You want me off your head? I thought you two specifically told me to stay put after that incident with the stone-cat," Crow replied. "But, okay, then."

They turned a corner only to look in awe as he saw a whole city on the stone. The houses were either carved into the stone or made of pods that rested against the stone. A giant, stone face sat in the air between two stones, kept up by rods. Crow got off Ayumu's head and also seemed interested.

"Wow! A whole city up in the clouds," Ayumu admired.

"Wasn't that what you two were looking for?" Crow responded.

"Yeah, but it's just amazing to see it for ourselves," Yusei replied.

"You humans are weird," Crow commented.

"Yeah, I guess we are," Ayumu agreed and kept walking along the wooden bridges. They came up on a pod and the female human called through a closed door, "Anyone in there?" She knocked on the door only to get no answer in return.

Ayumu looked at Yusei who shrugged. They continued to walk forward when they noticed what seemed to be an Oular sitting on a ledge. It looked at them and the two paused in their tracks for a moment. Yusei whispered to her, "He might be nervous. Considering how he seems to feel with us around already. We need to take this slowly and carefully."

Ayumu nodded and they began to approach but slowly and cautiously, trying not to frighten the skittish creature. It watched them nervously but curiously as they approached. Yusei and Ayumu soon got close enough and kneeled to the Oular's eye level without frightening the creature in front of them. Yusei slowly greeted, "Hey. We're not going to hurt you. I'm Yusei and that's my sister, Ayumu, we're friends. You're Oular?" It made a clicking sound.

"Oular. Oular?" Ayumu sounded out. "Are we saying that correctly?" It answered with another clicking noise. The noise was obviously its choice of language.

Yusei decided to try something else, "You have an impressive village. It's really cool." Another clicking sound. "It's great. Thanks." It clicked again. "We're looking for Abnaxus. Do you know someone called Abnaxus?" It clicked. "Abnaxus walks around with a stick. He leans on it. Like this." He held his hand out and tried to pretend he was holding it. The Oular gave acknowledgement, showing that the Oular knew who was he talking about.

"You know him!" Ayumu exclaimed, but still calm like. She then asked the creature, "Where's Abnaxus?" It stood up with the two following and pointed to a ledge with a orange colored leaved tree and other vegetation on it. "Up there? That's… high. I'm not sure if we can get all the way-" The Oular hurried away. "Hey! Wait!" But it was too late and it was gone.

The half siblings walked to Crow and Yusei told the bird, "Well, we made it. This is the Purple Mountains. And the Oular. So…"

"Yeah, what now?" Crow responded.

"Just explore and find a way to get to Abnaxus and Lux, I guess," Ayumu answered.

"Sounds like a well thought-out plan," Crow mocked.

"Be quiet," Ayumu retorted. They hurried over to the makeshift ladder that was closest to the ledge that they needed to get to and seemed to be the way. However, the Oular suddenly appeared again. "Hey, how do we-?" She was cut off as the Oular picked her and Yusei up and began to carry them up the ladder. They soon stopped on the ledge and the Oular set the two humans down.

"Thanks…" Yusei told it.

The creature then left and Yusei and Ayumu turned to see a familiar Venar standing, staring at the horizon.

They walked to him with Crow landed on a rock stand beside them and Abnaxus turned to them saying, "Dreamers," he coughed before continuing, "you did come."

"You didn't make it easy. Why not tell us where to go and what to do?" Yusei responded.

"Touching you through dreams will be like a blind man searching for a red pebble in a wild river," Abnaxus replied. "And if finding you is difficult, to talk even more so. Only fragments of words will survive the journey across. Some things will also not be known to me and could not be spoken. We do not know where Lux's heart was. You will need to find it on your own. Only a Dreamer could take this and bring-" He began to have a coughing fit.

"Are you sick or something?" Ayumu asked noticing how bad Abnaxus sounded.

"I was fading. I will have stayed behind too long, after my people leave one realm for another. This time is poison. It diminishes me," Abnaxus explained. "My loop ends soon. Too late for Abnaxus to journey onwards, but not too late for Lux. Not too late for the Dream. I will have stayed behind for Lux. For you to have found your way to Lux. Compared to this momentous thing, my life is of little significance."

"Couldn't you have reached someone else and have them return the soul-stone?" Yusei asked.

"Only a Dreamer can face the Sisters. Only a Dreamer will make them listen. Only a Dreamer was able to retrieve Lux's heart," Abnaxus explained.

"The soul-stone…" Yusei realized.

"Only three could touch it. There are no other Dreamers now. Only Yusei, only Ayumu, only Lux," Abnaxus responded.

"Why not send an actual message instead of visions?" Ayumu asked.

"You were worlds away. Any message would be broken, unreliable," Abnaxus explained. "The Oular will help me dream. The Oular was needed to find you in those dreams."

"Crow?" Yusei questioned. "How was he able to find us?"

"The bird bridges worlds and souls," Abnaxus explained. "The bird has a bond with the Dragon of Spring. The bird was connected to the Dreamer and to the Bloodless King. At the end of its life, the bird will be bonds to the Girl Who Walked Across Worlds."

"That's not a real answer, you know?" Ayumu responded.

"The bird is magic," Abnaxus replied.

"Which bird? I wasn't listening. There's a magic bird? Where?" Crow chimed in.

"You were a curious thing, feathered one. So little and yet so great. So full of magic," Abnaxus told Crow.

"Pfft, right, sure. I mean- Really? Magic?" the bird responded.

"Oh, yes. You would see this," Abnaxus replied.

"What's the Dragon of Spring?" Yusei asked returning the Venar's attention to the humans.

"The new thing that comes to pass when the old things die. The soul of she who saved the Balance, reborn," Abnaxus explained.

"She who saved-" Ayumu repeated but Crow finished for her with his realization.

"April? Are you talking about April Ryan?" the black, talking bird asked.

"What do you mean by reborn?" Yusei asked.

"April isn't dead?" Crow continued.

"She will be dead. She was reborn. There are two now, entwined but apart," Abnaxus replied. "The Dragon of Spring. The Girl Who Walked Between Worlds. Mortal and immortal, Human and Kin. They are legend."

"So, there are one but two? There are two Aprils now, but she's still dead? I don't get it," Ayumu responded.

"Neither would I. I will only know the words, not their meaning," Abnaxus replied. "This is the way of my sight. I will see, but never all of it. Scattered words from a book with many, many pages."

"That's helpful," Crow commented sarcastically.

"Where is Lux?" Yusei asked.

"Follow me, Dreamers," Abnaxus replied and guided Yusei, Ayumu, and Crow into a temple.


	20. The First Dreamer

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 20: The First Dreamer

"The Oular would always be protectors of the Dream. They are children of the First Dream, long before these worlds, long before Human and Venar," Abnaxus explained. As they walked through the hallway, Yusei and Ayumu could see at the end where light was shining in from the ceiling onto a silver colored boy under a blanket, asleep. "They will keep the First Dreamer safe, after Lux's heart was stolen. The soul-stone. They are protecting Lux from the Undream, protected everything from the Undream."

"How did Lux lose, her- his, her heart?" Ayumu asked.

"The wizard will take the soul-stone. He lets the black fire inside him. He wanted to own dreams. He will have desired to reshape everything," Abnaxus explained. "He was and will be dangerous. In all presents, past, and future.

"And the Undreaming?" Yusei prodded.

"The wizard will make a bargain and the black fire enters him and eats him," Abnaxus replied. "The wizard is the Undreaming." They turned to the boy as they reached his bed. Just behind the bed seemed to be an elder Oular that Yusei and Ayumu recognized from their visions.

"You were in our vision. Hello," Ayumu greeted. The Oular stayed silent. "He doesn't understand me."

"The Oular understood enough," Abnaxus responded. They both turned to the boy. "Here Lux slept a dreamless sleep."

"So, what now?" Yusei asked. "What do we do?"

"You will know," Abnaxus answered vaguely.

Crow landed on the corner of the bed while Yusei and Ayumu slowly approached the boy, Lux, who slept on the bed. Yusei carefully pulled out the soul-stone and Ayumu grabbed it as well. They set it against Lux's chest before their mind went dark for a moment.

. . . .

When their minds returned to focus, they found themselves in a blue space with Lux floating in front of him awake. The boy yawned. "You're awake," Ayumu commented. He then realized it. "You're inside my head."

"Same. We can-" Yusei was cut off by Lux.

 **(A/N: The game doesn't say what Lux is saying and just says the sounds. So I'll be making the words that Lux says from interpretation and ideas. Don't be too harsh about it.)**

The boy laughed. "Hear me?" he asked.

"Yeah. We can hear you inside," Ayumu replied. "You're burning with a white fire. I can't- It's painful."

The boy exhaled and the pain diminished to nothing. "Thanks. You're the First. You were there at the beginning of everything," Yusei responded.

"Yes," Lux responded. "And I need you two to continue the Dream. Continue everything."

"Us? No, I… How's that possible?" Ayumu asked.

"You brought my heart, didn't you?" Lux asked and chuckled.

"Yes, we brought your heart. The soul-stone," Yusei answered.

"That isn't what I wanted," Lux responded kindly.

"What do you mean that's not-?" Ayumu began but the boy cut him off.

"What of Nox?" he asked.

"Nox? Do you mean the Yaga? We didn't bring the Sisters. We didn't know-" Yusei began but realized something. "They were inside the soul-stone, and now they're here with us. That's it, right?"

"Yes," Lux answered with a laugh.

"Light, dark; dream, nightmare. Together," Yusei commented. "That's why we needed to go there to face them. To bring them with us." He took a deep breath. "So what now? How do we save the Dream? Save reality?"

"As I said, _you two_ must continue the Dream," Lux answered.

"I can't be the one to do that. I'm just… I'm just a girl," Ayumu responded. "You're a god, or as close as to anyone can be to a god, I guess. I don't think I'm ready for that."

"You can, you are," Lux assured. "Both of you."

"What happens if we say yes? Who do you become? And what about… What about us? What becomes of us?" Yusei asked.

"You are special, Yusei Fudo, Ayumu Honda. You will become into the people that the universe needs of you. You are the ones that are capable of protecting the Dream. You two, and you two alone," Lux replied. "You guys can do this. You will be fine."

"We understand," Ayumu responded and Yusei nodded.

"Do you trust me?" Lux asked.

"Of course we trust you," Yusei answered. "How can we not? I mean, you made the universe. Without the Dream, there's nothing, and there never was." He then realized something. "If the Dreamer stops dreaming, there's nothing forever. So if you-"

Lux laughed for a moment. "We become one," he stated.

"If we are one, then the Dream is ours. We keep it alive," Yusei responded. "But what about after we're gone? What then? And how will Ayumu and I both become one with you?"

"Your bond will strengthen and your powers will grow. You will share my power and my weight together. As for after you're gone, you will know," Lux answered.

Yusei looked at Ayumu who nodded with a confident face. "Okay, alright," Yusei agreed. "Well, we can't let the universe end, so let's go.

"We're ready," Ayumu agreed.

Lux held up his hand and Yusei and Ayumu put up theirs, overlapping each other's hands and nearly touching Lux's. Slowly, Lux faded into them and they couldn't help but feel different.

But the young adults there were soon pulled out of their minds.

. . . .

They heard Crow ask, "Are you okay, Yusei, Ayumu?" They looked at the bird. "For a moment there, it looked like… It looked like you two were made of light. It was… beautiful."

"We're okay," Yusei assured.

"Dizzy a bit. But, we… We're… We have to go back now. Wake up for real. Face the world, face the- There are things we have to do. We need to fix things. We can't be asleep any longer."

"Can I come?" Crow asked.

"No, you can't, Crow," Yusei replied.

"So you're leaving me here?" Crow asked sounding sad.

"You'll be fine, Crow. I know it," Yusei reassured. "Thanks for… for everything. I don't think I'll be coming back, but I know you'll be okay. And even if we never see each other again, our bond with you and your bond with us will never leave this universe. I promise."

"Okay, Yusei, Ayumu," he agreed. "Goodbye then. Hope to catch you another time."

Yusei looked at his sister. "You ready?"

She nodded. "Think of waking up," she told him.

"I know," he assured. They both focused before they disappeared from the area.


	21. Locked

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 21: Locked

Yusei's eyes opened and he sat up. He was in a hospital room in what seemed to be New Domino that he recognized. He looked beside him in a separate bed and noticed Ayumu slowly waking up. He noticed she was in a white hospital attire for girls - though, he knew she wouldn't like the dress because she hated them with all she had. Meanwhile, he was in a male hospital attire.

An old robotic toy of Ayumu's called Tomoko climbed onto his bed, being closest side to Ayumu. The toy was a robot cat that could talk and practically had a mind of its own. He made it for Ayumu when she was younger, before she went into the coma. It was one of his harder programming projects. But Ayumu loved it and it was like her best friend aside from him.

Ayumu sat up and looked at Yusei in shock. They both turned to Tomoko as it exclaimed, "Ayumu! Yusei! You're awake!"

"What?" Yusei questioned. He had to admit, Tomoko didn't sound the same. He could tell Ayumu noticed it too. Tomoko climbed onto Ayumu.

"Tomoko, get off of me," Ayumu told him. She groaned as her robot friend climbed to the foot of the bed. "What time is it? Wait, where… Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital, Ayumu, Yusei. In New Domino. Don't you remember?" Tomoko answered.

"I… no," Yusei answered.

"You got really sick. They brought you here to make you better," Tomoko responded. "I've been watching over you. You've been in a coma for a long, long time."

"What? I'm… I'm not sure," Yusei responded.

"I'm confused," Ayumu commented, bluntly.

"You just woke up, guys. It must be strange to be awake again," Tomoko told them. "Don't worry. It'll pass. You just need rest. Go back to sleep now. I'll watch over you."

"Tomoko? You don't sound like yourself," Ayumu told them, clearly getting a bit nervous. Yusei was tense… Something was not right.

"You guys have been very sick. You can't trust yourselves right now," the machine responded. "Just close your eyes and go back to sleep. You'll feel much better afterwards."

"No, we… we can't sleep anymore," Yusei denied. Ayumu nodded.

"I wouldn't recommend that, Yusei, Ayumu. You're not well. You need to go back to sleep," Tomoko responded.

"We need to get up," Ayumu retorted and they both stood up.

"I wouldn't recommend that, guys. You're not well. You need to-" Ayumu cut the robot off.

"Stop it, Tomoko!" she ordered. Ayumu whispered to Yusei, "He's been there for me all the way until I fell into that coma. He was like a second sibling and guardian, just behind you. Best gift from anyone. But… something's not right. He's… not the Tomoko I remember."

"I know," Yusei agreed. "There's something off about this whole thing."

"Are you tired, guys? You must be tired. Let's go back to sleep," Tomoko suggested again. "I'll stay right here. I promise I won't ever leave you."

"No, we don't want to sleep anymore," Ayumu refused.

"You're not feeling well, I can tell. You're exhausted, and you're seeing things that aren't real," Tomoko responded.

' _Seeing things that aren't real?'_ Yusei thought. "I don't know what's wrong, but it's not us. It's this place," he told the robot. "It's you, Tomoko. You're all wrong."

"That hurts my feelings, Yusei," Jay responded.

The two Dreamers sighed and walked around the room. They both tried opening the door to the balcony and the door into the rest of the hospital, but they were locked. "Why would they lock us in a hospital room?" Ayumu wondered looking at Yusei. Yusei shook his head saying he didn't know.

They looked a several pictures in the room, remembering the events each time. Including one with their mom and Yusei's dad. They went to Tomoko again.

"You don't sound right," Yusei told the robot.

"You're imagining things, guys," Tomoko told him. "You're very, very tired. Sleeping will help you feel better. You should go back to sleep, just for a little-"

"No, Tomoko," Ayumu denied. The two of them walked to the door to the rest of the hospital again. Ayumu whispered to Yusei, "What do you think is going on?"

"I'm honestly not sure. This all seems off. There's even something about those events that seem off to me," Yusei replied. "What about you?"

"Yeah," she answered. "Should we try talking to Tomoko again?"

"Though I'm guessing it'll be pointless, might as well give it one last shot," Yusei answered. They walked over to the robot and looked at him.

"Tomoko, what is going on? Really?" Yusei asked.

"I don't know what you mean. Maybe going back to sleep will help you. Why don't you go back to sleep, you guys? You'll feel much better if you do," Tomoko suggested.

The half siblings looked at each other and sighed. "Alright," Ayumu agreed and lied down. Yusei wasn't sure if it was really a good idea, but he did so as well.

. . . .

" _Wake up, Yusei, Ayumu! You must wake up!" called a voice. "Come on, guys. Wake up! This place isn't real. You need to get out."_

. . . .

Yusei and Ayumu sat up. "Was that… April?" Yusei wondered looking at Ayumu. She shook her head, saying she didn't know. "We need to figure this out. Now." She nodded with a confident face.

They got up and began to look at a picture of him, Ayumu, and another old friend collecting things at a nearly flat junkyard. Yusei and Ayumu began to think hard, though, as they studied it. "I… I don't actually remember this place or this happening."

"Neither do I. What happened that day?" Ayumu wondered. Suddenly, the entire area seemed to glitch and fizz out for a moment like on a computer. "What…?"

They looked at the photo again. "That never happened. I remember us talking to our friend about heading to the junkyard, try to find some cards. But we didn't do it. Instead, our other friends decided to have us play a game with them."

Ayumu nodded. "You're right." The glitch thing happened again. "Okay, that wasn't in my head."

"No, it wasn't in mine either," Yusei agreed. "Something's going on." They looked at the picture again. Another glitch around the picture before it changed to their friends and them running around the area by Martha's house.

They went to a picture on the wall that held Yusei, Ayumu, Yusei's father, and their mother out on a small vacation out of town. Yusei began to recall the correct memories. "Mom disappeared a few months after we were born. Dad raised us for a year and then I heard he died in the explosion. But… he didn't."

"We're not just _half_ siblings, Yusei," Ayumu realized. "We're full blooded siblings. Faith was a half sibling because she was born after Dad died. But Dad died from an illness after I was born and Mom put me in Satellite like you. That's how I met you, remember? I remember learning that in Storytime once thanks to the Vagabond."

Yusei nodded. "Me too. But Mom was really never a part of our life. Dad was only for a bit on both our ends." They looked around them as the glitch effect happened around them again.

"Okay, is reality glitching or something?" Ayumu questioned. They looked at the picture closer and it glitched like the other before it turned to the background of Yusei finding Ayumu's baby form on the ground with Martha. "All these memories… They're not real."

"What're you doing, guys?" Tomoko called. "You shouldn't be on your feet. You're probably seeing things. Please lie down, just for a moment. I'll watch over you. I'll sing for you." They looked at each picture again, thinking about the wrong things with them. "This isn't going to help anyone, Yusei, Ayumu. You're just going to ruin everything. Please stop, please go back to bed. Go back to sleep, guys." Suddenly everything began to bug out and glitch.

"Everything here is a hallucination or projection. None of this is real," Yusei realized. He looked at Ayumu. "We need to get out of here."

"Look at what you've done," Tomoko stated. "Why couldn't you just leave things be? We could be happy here, together. The three of us, forever. I need you to go back to sleep, guys. Now, before it's too late. Before…" He stopped and then replayed the same sentences again like a broken record.

Yusei and Ayumu sat next to their old, robotic friend. "Something's wrong. This place, and… you. You're all wrong," Ayumu told the robot. "You're not you."

"That doesn't make sense, Ayumu. Of course, I'm me. I've always been me. Tomoko. Your old friend. Your best friend in the whole world," Jay responded.

"You look the same, but you don't act the same or sound the same," Yusei told him. "It's like… Like someone put you together from memory, but didn't get the details right. They didn't know you like we know you. And they probably figured it wouldn't matter." They both then realized it. "That's what's wrong with this whole place. It's made of memories, but some of them aren't right. The Crimson Dragon, our friends, Storytime, Arcadia… We weren't dreaming. They were real. This is the dream, or… A dream made physical." He looked at Ayumu. "By us. We made this! And we can see through it."

"But… I'm real, Ayumu, Yusei," Tomoko stated. "Aren't I?"

"Of course, you are, Tomoko. Of course, you're real," the female human replied.

"Are you sure you don't want to play a game? We haven't played a game in so long," the robot asked.

"Sorry, Tomoko," Ayumu denied.

"Sorry," Yusei followed.

"Okay, then. Promise to wake me up later?" Tomoko requested.

"We promise," Yusei vowed and Ayumu nodded before they touched the robot.

Tomoko began to fade, saying, "Night."

"I'll miss you, too," Ayumu muttered as her old friend disappeared completely.

The two stood up and began to walk along the walls of the room, trying to find an exit. They walked towards a wall when they noticed they could see a white tiled wall behind the fake scenery. When they got near a television, they noticed it wasn't a television, but a one-way window.

"They've been observing us," Yusei realized.

They quickly found themselves walking through the beds and came to the center of them and noticed a door behind the fake beds and wall. Yusei pressed a button and the door opened.


	22. Looking

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 22: Looking

They slowly walked through a white tiled hallway. Yusei and Ayumu reached a section that had what looked like a field of some sort separating it from the rest of the hallway. Yusei slowly slid his hand through to find his hand and arm covered in a white sleeve. They went all the way through to find Yusei in a white and blue, jumpsuit like outfit and Ayumu in a red and white jumpsuit outfit that was almost a copy of Yusei's.

Yusei looked as his mark glowed through the sleeve. "I still have my mark," he realized. He sighed in pure relief. "Good."

"Think you could contact your friends through your mark?" Ayumu asked.

"It'd be difficult," Yusei answered. "The most I could do is an image, if anything really. And just this wouldn't say much." Ayumu nodded.

They slowly walked through the hall. Sirens were blaring and red lights were flashing, almost like they were on a lockdown. _'Probably because of us,'_ Yusei thought. As he neared a t-section, he noticed a name called Jiva on the wall.

"That name sounds… familiar," Ayumu commented.

"I've heard of a new facility for a company called Jiva being put in just outside New Domino. No one was allowed in though without authorization," Yusei commented. "Think that's where we are?"

"I'm not sure why I'm so certain of it, but definitely," Ayumu answered.

"Glad I wasn't the only was so certain of that. But I wanted a second opinion before I sent this as a message to the other Signers. I have no doubt they're looking for us," Yusei answered. Ayumu nodded again. Yusei focused on his mark and then what he saw of the Jiva sign. He slowly felt the message being sent. He knew his mark would continue to glow and show them where he is until he was safe. It was just a matter of stopping his mother. He looked at Ayumu. "Let's go."

"Right," she agreed. They walked forward for a while and they soon reached a t-section. At the turning point, it had a map and a map key for the area. They read one in particular. "'Incubation'…? What are they incubating exactly?"

"I don't know. I'm sure we'll find out eventually. We'll have to keep moving for now, though," Yusei replied. "We might be able to find a way out before the others get here."

"That would be helpful," Ayumu agreed.

Yusei nodded with a small grin and they turned to the left to find the door locked with a heavy-duty scan. Seeing no other choice, they turned to go to the other hall which was the direction of Incubation. They opened the door with the greatest of ease. He found four Incubation pods, each with a name on it, but there wasn't any babies. The first was labeled: " _ **One-nine. Faith**_ ".

"Faith?" Yusei questioned.

"As in our half-sister?" Ayumu followed. They turned to the next: " _ **One-seven. Hope**_ ". He then followed to the next and paused in shock: " _ **One-four. Ayumu**_ ". They quickly looked at the last: " _ **One-one. Yusei**_ ". That shocked them to no end. "We were… made in a lab?"

"By the looks of it," Yusei replied still in shock. "But we don't know enough to assume anything yet. And to be honest, I'm not sure if I want to know anything else." Ayumu nodded in agreement, seeming just as shocked and a bit worried. "Don't worry, Ayumu. We'll get out of here."

"My worry is what'll happen before we do," she responded.

"I know," Yusei agreed.

They turned to another section that was like a study room. It had a device for studying brain waves that was a bit unpleasant to be around. Yusei looked at a notepad on the side and read it. It was a message from… "Our… mom?" he muttered.

Ayumu looked over his shoulder as best she could. "But I thought our mom was gone. Dead." Yusei shook his head to say he had no idea and read the report. It was about both of them as a physical status report.

"They've been monitoring us for over a three years. In that room. But I've been with my friends for just over all those years."

"And I've been up for a year," Ayumi commented. "That… Is that even possible?"

"After all I've been through, I don't know what's possible and what's _im_ possible anymore," Yusei replied. "I'm surprised we've been kept alive and this strong all this time."

"Do you think Lux and the Yaga are still with us?" Ayumu asked.

"I do," Yusei answered. "That may be why we're this strong after seemingly being in a coma for three years plus. Otherwise, we would never be able to walk." He set down the report and said, "Come on, we need to get out of here before things get worse." Ayumu nodded in agreement.

She followed him as he turned and opened the next door and way towards the next area of hallways. But as he opened the door, they heard the other open and saw a light come in. They immediately ran through after they spoke, letting him know it was a military member from some higher level.

Once they were out, they saw another coming in from another hall in front of him. They turned to another one which led to "Sequencing" and hurried to find the door locked, only to be opened by a key card. They turned to look to see the light pointing down the hall he was in, signalling a soldier was coming.

Suddenly, a voice said on an open com, "We have runner by bioengineering. This is not the Briar-rose and Star-fall, shoot to kill." The soldier changed directions and the Dreamers heard them leaving the hallway. The two runaways slowly peeked around the corner to see the soldier shooting with someone gasping and crying out before falling. Ayumu struggled to keep in a gasp of fear and shock. Yusei kept her face in his chest to protect his younger sister from the sight.

"Target is down. Repeat, the target is down," the Soldier said.

"Affirmative. Head back to bioengineering," the leading voice said. "If there are any witnesses, take care of them."

"Affirmative, WATI," the member agreed before leaving, moving forward and away from their location.

' _WATI?'_ Yusei thought in confusion. _'Where have I heard that name before?'_

Yusei check around a bit and noticed a key card in the fallen man's pocket. He looked at Ayumu and told her quietly, "Stay here and stay hidden. I'm going to get the key card."

"Yusei, no!" she retorted just as quiet.

"I'll be back in a few seconds. I promise. Just stay hidden for now, okay?" Yusei assured. her. "I'll be fine."

Ayumu nodded, regaining her composure. "Just be careful."

Yusei nodded. He slowly and silently moved to the main hallway again and looked around the corner to see the dead scientist's body and the soldier leaving the area. He slowly made his way to the body and looked at him sadly. _'Sorry, but I need this more than you,'_ Yusei told the man mentally and took the key card.

Yusei hurriedly, but silently, walked back to Ayumu. He showed her the key card and she nodded. They hurried to the Sequencing door and opened it with the key card.

As they did, they saw about a dozen people get shot and fall to the ground dead. They heard another soldier leave the room. "What is going on here, exactly? Why is this military group killing all these people?" Ayumu questioned.

"I don't know," he answered. "And I don't want to find out. Come on."

The door closed behind them, but he could hear a soldier approaching from the other side. There were two exits. One across from him and one the soldier that killed all these people left through. Seeing no other choice, Yusei grabbed Ayumu's hand and bolted for the one across from him.

Just as he exited, the soldier from the hallway he had come from opened the door and pointed the gun at them. Just as he was about to shoot, Yusei hit the door key to close and lock the door before darting away. As they got to another T-section, another soldier appeared from the hallway across from them and they darted around the corner, barely missing behind shot. Yusei opened the door, only to reveal to them an all too familiar person with two soldiers pointing a gun at her.

"Mom?" Yusei called.


	23. Help

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 23: Help

Jack, Crow, and Akiza were hurrying through the hallways, avoiding soldiers if they could, Akiza knocking out those that they couldn't with her powers. They managed to get the twins to stay home until they brought their Dreamer friends back. As they reached the Incubation room, Akiza stopped for a moment.

"Guys, you might want to see this," she called. They hurried over and noticed the Incubation pod labeled Yusei and Ayumu.

"Were Ayumu and… and Yusei… made in a lab?" Crow wondered.

"I don't know. But we need to find them," Jack stated. They looked at their marks. "Whatever's going on, they're still in danger. Come on." They nodded and hurried through the halls again. They came up to Sequencing when they noticed all the dead bodies. They inspected the bodies for a second.

"Those soldiers shot these people," Crow broke down.

"Why? Why shoot innocent people?" Akiza asked.

"They have a specific target and these people are getting in the way of it," Jack answered. "Yusei and Ayumu have to be close by." They hurried out when they saw a soldier heading down a hall just to the right of them.

"Think they're down there?" Akiza asked.

They looked at their marks which grew bright. "They definitely are," Crow answered.

They hurried behind the soldier before Akiza knocked him out with a monster. They neared the door when they heard a voice. It wasn't Yusei's or Ayumu's…

"Hello, Yusei, Ayumu," a woman's voice greeted.

"What's going on? What is this place?" Ayumu's voice asked sternly.

"What have you been doing?" Yusei's voice followed.

Jack, Crow, and Akiza didn't wait a second more before opening the door and stepping in front of their friends.

"Jack! Crow! Akiza!" Yusei greeted.

His mother, Masuyo **(A/N: Yes, I know that's probably not her name. But it's literally never said her name and I can't find her name anywhere else on the internet. So, please bear with me and deal with it. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but I picked the best name for her through meaning. If you don't like it, though, don't be harsh)** , placed a mask on before hitting a button. Before any of the rest could put anything on to protect themselves from the gas, they blacked out.

 **Sorry this is so short! I will try to make the rest longer, I promise!**


	24. Questions That Need Answering

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 24: Questions That Need Answering

Yusei slowly woke up in a containment pod. He looked beside him to notice Ayumu was beside him, also back to being fully awake. He also noticed his three friends locked to a bar like pole circling around the console by cuffs. He and Ayumu turned to see his mother working by the center console, just a bit farther from his friends. In the center of the console was a swirling, blue vortex.

Before Yusei could do anything, Ayumu began to bang on the glass of the container to get any acknowledgement from their mother.

Masuyo turned to them. "There you two are," she greeted. They noticed the others waking up as Mira walked over.

"Mom? What…?" Ayumu couldn't finish any questions, despite having so many swirling in her head. Yusei was practically the same, though he said no words.

"You must have a lot of questions," she responded.

"Why are we locked in here?" Yusei asked, trying to find a way out. "Let us out."

"I can't do that, but I promise I'll explain. Just… try to relax," Masuyo responded.

"Let them out," Crow ordered pulling at his bonds, but they wouldn't budge. And Akiza couldn't reach her cards or duel disk to help them.

"I can't do that," Masuyo told them. "Not yet."

"What did you do?" Yusei asked tense.

"I had to subdue them. There's so much at stake, I couldn't afford anyone getting overly emotional," his mother explained.

Ayumu groaned in annoyance. "Let us out now!" she ordered.

"After you're done, you can leave. You and your friends," Masuyo told her children.

"Done with what?" Yusei asked.

"The culmination of thirty years of research. My life's work," the head scientist there answered. "Rebooting the universe."

"Uh, excuse me?" Ayumu responded and the others were getting as tense as the brother and sister were.

"I will explain, and hopefully you'll understand," Masuyo replied. "But first, I do need you to calm down and be rational. Nothing good will come from panicking." Despite every inch of Yusei and Ayumu wanting to get out and try to convince their mother to let them out, they both knew nothing would get them out; So, Ayumu took a deep breath to calm herself and Yusei stayed silent, tense but calm. "That's better. Deep breaths, Ayumu, Yusei. Now, listen to me. For the past three and a half years, you've been in a coma. Here, inside these labs of Jiva. You've been dreaming." Yusei's friends went wide eyed.

"No, that's not possib-" Ayumu began.

"Hold on, I'm not saying it's all been a dream. Everything you've experienced has been real. That's what so amazing and exciting, you guys! While you were dreaming, you both projected a physical binary of yourselves into the waking world. Think of it like entangled particles. One here in my lab, and one fighting waking up in a coma while the other lives a life in Satellite as a Signer with your friends over there. You both dreamed yourselves a new life in the world… and it came to be as real as anything," Masuyo explained.

"Why take us here?" Yusei asked.

"Two reasons: To keep WATI off our backs. And, more importantly, to trigger your memories and activate your latent powers. We needed you to return to that… that parallel otherworld to find and absorb a primal source of dreaming energy. To fulfill your potential," she explained further.

Ayumu and Yusei both then whispered, almost inaudibly, "Lux… Are you there?"

"You both have a unique skill. You must of realized this by now. You can reshape reality," Masuyo told him.

"We're Dreamers," Ayumu responded.

"There have always been stories of those with powers to change the world. But I couldn't wait around for that to happen. So… your father and I made you two," Masuyo told them.

"What do you mean by 'made'?" Yusei asked.

"You, Yusei, were the first experiment. Our first creation," Masuyo began. His friends were beyond shocked at this point. "We designed you. The first manufactured 'Dreamer'. You were born in this lab. There were other experiments. Ayumu, one of them, as a full blooded sibling. And half-sisters. Faith, of course… the final girl. She was a mistake." Yusei glared a bit at his mother for calling Faith 'a mistake'. "You met Ayumu, Yusei. She was the second experiment after you. You were drawn to each other, and she was drawn here. To Eingana, to the dreams. The other two pose no threat. None of them worked out, not the way we intended. And I didn't think you two would either. So I let your father take you away, Yusei, when you were a toddler. He cared so much about you and then Ayumu, he was willing to give up everything. His life, his career… me. How could I say no? When Ayumu came along and showed no potential after your father passed, I let her join you. It wasn't until you both fell into that coma that I realized your powers were there, only latent. That's why I kept you two in those comas, and brought you here. I did it to protect you. If I didn't, WATI would have taken you. Your father was already gone, so it was up to me to keep you two safe. I saved your lives, Yusei, Ayumu. And once we've finished changing the universe, you can go home."

"Changing what?" Yusei asked obviously not happy with what he was hearing. And it was clear Ayumu wasn't either.

"Changing everything. For the better. I need you to understand this. We're going to remake the world, you two and I," Masuyo explained.

"How?" Ayumu asked.

"I don't have time to go into details, but… There's a place we go when we dream," she began.

"Storytime," Yusei commented. His friends looked at him, shocked that he seemed to know it so well.

"Different cultures have different names for it. Some cultures call it Dreamtime," Mira responded. "Think of it as the initial state between all matter and energy, in every possible universe. The blueprint. All realities originated in this initial state, and they remained entangled, evolving, one universe affecting another. Wave energies are fueled by dreams. Particles in our world are entangled with particles in Arcadia, because they were created together in Storytime. Eingana has the power to change the wave field, and thus, the observable universe… through dreams."

"What's WATI's role in this?" Ayumu asked.

"WATI funded us, funded the development of the device you heard about called the Dreamachine. We needed it to collect and store dream energy. The Dreamachine facilitated that. They thought we were working for them, not the other way around," Masuyo explained. "WATI just wanted to make toys to sell and get more money. They have no imagination."

"And Arcadia…?" Yusei pressed.

"One of many worlds spawned from dreams. And world of…" Masuyo sighed. "I'm a scientist, I don't understand magic or psychic powers really. It's chaotic, complex, and unpredictable. Magic is dangerous, and it has no place in a rational universe. But… we needed it. We had to bridge the Divide in order to store these vast quantities of dream energy. We put things in motion to return you two to Arcadia, but you two did most of the work yourselves. Of course, we had help on… on the other side. A partner. But he didn't- You did it on your own, guys. You were compelled to connect with the primal force that inhabited the initial state before this universe. That was only possible by crossing the Divide. Something called you there. Some… force guided you. I don't know how to quantify it or explain it. But you succeeded. You absorbed the energy and it didn't kill you. You both got stronger. Strong enough to wake up and break out. Sooner than anticipated, but… the timing ended up being perfect. You've reached your full potential. You're finally ready to interface with Eingana."

"Eingana?" Ayumu questioned.

"Meet Eingana," the mother responded and they all looked at the swirling vortex either in front of or behind them. Jack, Crow, and Akiza were getting tense, dying to find a way to reach Yusei and Ayumu. But there didn't seem to be any easy way, especially since Akiza couldn't use her powers. "It took me decades to design and build her. She spans dimensions and taps into dream energies… She's quite the thing. But she's actually not the first. WATI had the prototype. They used her to operate the beta-version of DreamNet. After she was destroyed, we built Eingana II. She operates the version of DreamNet currently processing and recording the dreams of hundreds of millions of Dreamachine users. And now we're reversing the process. With you two as the conduit, connecting quantum fields, connecting Dreamtime with reality, Eingana will begin to alter our observable universe." Ayumu gave a nervous look while Yusei gave a tense one. They were struggling not to glare in refusal. Neither of them were wanting or ready to reshape the entire universe. "Don't look so worried, Ayumu, Yusei. You won't need to do anything. She knows what to do. I've programmed her, and my template will guide her. Together, you'll make a better universe. A universe without death. A universe without sickness, intolerance… A universe where everyone is equal, where justice and compassion will prevail. A universe not ruled by corporations or religions, but by science and logic, by rational thought. A better world." They both stayed silent and glared defensively.

"Let Yusei and Ayumu go. You can't force them to play this game your playing," Akiza stated.

"No matter the universe you make, nothing will be so perfect as you're imagining," Crow told Masuyo. "Just let them go."

"Sorry. I know you feel protective of my son and daughter, but you don't have to worry about them until we're done. And we need to get started before those goons break down the doors and ruin everything," the scientist responded.

"Masuyo, wait-" Yusei tried with Ayumu. But she didn't and pressed a button. Five laser like light sprung into Yusei and Ayumu. They passed out almost immediately, while floating slightly.

"You have no idea what you're doing," Akiza told her.

"Just relax. Once we're done, you'll all be free to leave," Masuyo responded.

"Let me out of these and you'll see how relaxed I can be," Jack stated angrily. Despite all the arguments him and Yusei got into in the past, to Jack, he was a brother no matter what happened. And it was the same with Crow.


	25. Planning Stages

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 25: Planning Stages

Yusei and Ayumu slowly woke up on a rocky ground in the outfit they had worn when they were in Storytime. Yusei's being an exact, more masculine version of Ayumu's. Around them was like a tunnel of spiraling energy. They stood up when were quick to noticed Crow.

"Crow?" Yusei greeted shocked. "Is that you?"

"I think so. I'm- I'm supposed to show you something," the bird replied.

"What? Why? What're you doing here?" Ayumu asked. "Or better yet, where is here?"

"I don't know. I don't even know how I got here, I'm- I'm, ah, a bit… a bit… I don't feel right. I'm not sure what happened, and… I'm not sure I'm all here. If that makes any sense?" Crow replied.

"Not really," Yusei responded.

"No, yeah, no. I can see how that makes no sense," Crow responded.

"What are you supposed to show us?" Ayumu asked.

"Oh! I almost forgot! So the ghost in the machine told me to do this thing. This one last thing. The ghost said this has been my destiny all along," Crow replied. "I don't expect you'll know what I'm talking about?"

"Crow, we don't even know where this is. A minute ago, we was inside pods in a lab, and now-" Yusei was cut off by the bird.

"We're inside the quantum weave that makes all the stories. This is reality's blueprint," Crow explained. "Uh… how did I know that? What does 'quantum' mean? What's a 'blueprint'?"

"That explains everything," Ayumu responded sarcastically.

"That was sarcasm. I detect sarcasm," Crow responded annoyed.

"That… ghost in the machine you mentioned. Who was it?" Yusei asked.

"No idea. I remember nothing before meeting you here… aside from a ghost telling me to show you what I'm about to show you. And I don't even know what that is," Crow replied.

"Show us what? There's nothing here," Ayumu questioned.

"Let's go find it," Crow suggested before they began their trek along a stone path. They soon found themselves in a memory like area that seemed like a room in an old monastery. "Does this look at all familiar to you?"

"It looks like an old monastery," Yusei answered.

"There you go! Maybe that's it!" Crow exclaimed.

"That doesn't really help," Ayumu retorted.

Yusei noticed a diary on a desk. "That's a diary." He walked up and began to read it with Crow and Ayumu: " _ **I am at a crossroads between waking and dream. One path leads back to the world I left behind. The other path… The other path leads to a place of shadows. Between the familiar and the unknown, between certainty and doubt, my choice would seem obvious. Any sane man would turn around, return to the world he knows, forget what he has learned, and live his life in blissful ignorance. But in truth, it is too late. My choice was made many years ago, when I first embarked on this journey. I cannot turn back. I am at a crossroads, but for me, there's only one path. I leave behind these words in the hope that, someday, they'll serve as a map for someone else. To whomever reads this, Godspeed on your journey. If you ever decide to follow in my footsteps, look me up. Brian Westhouse.**_ "

Ayumu then questioned, "Brian Westhouse? Our Westhouse?"

"The plot thickens!" Crow exclaimed.

"Or gets more confusing," Ayumu responded. "I don't know what this is supposed to tell us."

"That Westhouse is involved?" Crow suggested.

"I guess there's that," Yusei replied.

"Come on. There's more," Crow responded before flying out with Yusei and Ayumu following.

As they walked, they heard a voice say, "We're ready, traveller. Your journey is about to begin." They neared another door and heard the voice say louder and closer, "The ritual is ready. Step onto the dais, traveller." Yusei and Ayumu turned the corner with Crow and they saw Brian surrounded by a blue portal like area before disappearing.

"Okay, so what just happened?" Ayumu asked.

"Portals. They're all over the place," Crow answered. "Let's follow him."

"Wait!" Yusei called but it was too late and they found themselves in what appeared to be Storytime.

They came up and saw Brian talking with the Vagabond. "What're you doing here? You cannot be here. It will find you," the Vagabond told the man.

"I… don't… Where am I? What is this place?" Brian asked.

"How did you get here? Go back the way you came. Quickly. You cannot stay," Vagabond told him.

"I don't… know how to go," Brian told him.

"It is here. What have you done? What have you done?" Vagabond responded.

"What do you mean? What?" Brian questioned.

"The Undreaming," Vagabond answered and they turned to see a black, mist like cloud appearing.

"God… What is that? What?" Brian stated backing up fearfully. It approached him and Brian tried to run. "No. No! No!" He fell onto his back and it entered him.

"What is that terrifying thing?" Crow asked.

"That's the Undreaming… I know it is. I feel it," Yusei answered. Ayumu nodded.

"Well, that's going to give me nightmares for a long, long time," Crow responded.

"The Undreaming entered Brian," Yusei commented.

"It sure did," Crow agreed.

"Was he looking for it? Is that why he came here? Or was it an accident…?" Ayumu wondered.

"I guess that's what you're supposed to figure out," Crow answered. "Come on. We have more places to visit."

They found themselves back on the rocky path that they were originally on. They walked forward a bit before another memory came into view. It was Brian sitting on a bench by a building.

"Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Brian exclaimed quietly. "Will you not stay silent for one bloody minute? I can't-" He took a sip of a bottle of wine or some sort of alcoholic drink, "I can't think, I can't sleep, I can't dream. I can't have you inside me. You're eating me up. Why are you not doing what I've asked you to do? You're supposed to give me power. You're supposed to serve me. Not-Not the other way around. Stop… whispering! Magic must be destroyed for the worlds to become one. For Stark and Arcadia to reconnect. For me to return home. You must help me accomplish this. You must listen to me. You see, if magic leaks into Stark, it'll cause chaos and mayhem. Millions will die. I-I don't have a choice." He put on a mask. "We don't have a choice. It must be done." The scene then disappeared.

"So Brian is the Prophet! That's a twist I didn't see coming. Who am I kidding, of course I saw it coming," Crow commented.

"Brian's possessed by the Undreaming and he brings it to Arcadia. And then it starts… talking to him? Controlling him?" Ayumu wondered.

"Sounded to me like he wanted to control it," Crow responded.

"Why, though?" Yusei wondered.

"Uh, to destroy magic?" Crow suggested.

"There has to be more to it than that," Yusei replied.

"I'm just repeating what he saw. Come on. There's much more," Crow called. They moved forward more.

They came up on another memory and saw a familiar woman, the White Dragon, and place. "We've been here before," Ayumu commented.

"The Dark People's library. Something happened here that-" Crow stopped as the scene began to play out.

"Who's there? Hello?" the White Dragon greeted. She turned to look behind her. "Funny bird, is that you? Oh, I didn't… see you. Are you looking for something?" Brian stepped into a picture with a spear ready to strike it down on her. "Wait, no, what are you-" She screamed as Brian killed the White Dragon and the scene vanished.

"He killed the White Dragon," Yusei realized.

"Yeah, and I was there. I saw Mr. Westhouse… and he saw me," Crow responded. "He tried to kill me, too, but- I was struck with something from that pointy magic stick of his, and I-I blacked out. Next thing I know, I was stowed away on a ship to Sadir. I must've crawled into a barrel or something. I didn't remember any of it until… until the Prophet grabbed me. I hurt him, there was blood, and- I don't know what happened next, but his blood… That's what helping me pull you into these memories. The Prophet's blood! Is that weird?"

"Not any weirder than anything else I've experienced within these three years," Yusei answered.

"And especially this week," Ayumu added. Yusei nodded.

"Welcome to my life," Crow responded before they continued their walk.

They soon came up on another memory. "Do you question the Goddess, Utana?" the Prophet asked an older woman.

"Of… Of course not. I just want… I need to understand why all non humans must be destroyed," the woman, Utana, replied.

"Magic is an aberration. It has no place in the cosmos. It's chaos. And chaos interferes with logic, with the Engine. With Her plans," the Prophet answered.

"This I understand. Reunification cannot happen as long as Arcadia is ruled by magic. But the non humans-" Utana was cut off.

"If we are to fulfill the wishes of the Goddess, we must purify the world. Only then can the mechanical Engine serve Her. Do you understand now?" the Prophet interrupted.

"I… Yes, Master," Utana agreed. "My Office will establish camps and ship non humans to the islands. And I'll find someone to spearhead the program to… eradicate magicals."

"Good," the Prophet responded. "I'll be leaving for the Northlands soon, to oversee the final construction of the Tower and the Engine. I trust Azadir is in good hands."

"The Masked Council listens to me only. The Six will continue to heed our advice. Sadir belongs to us, Master Prophet," Utana assured.

"And this new Emissary?" Prophet asked.

"Sister Sahya will join you. She's young but clever. And loyal. She'll serve you well in Marcuria," Utana explained.

"I trust your judgement. Send word when the camps are ready, Utana," the Prophet ordered. The scene then disappeared.

"Did you understand that?" Ayumu asked her bird friend or brother.

"No, but that was Mother Utana. She took me in after I arrived in Sadir. I did some work for her. She helped me get back to Marcuria. Kian and her appeared to be very close, until… until she stabbed him," Crow replied. "With a knife. To the belly."

"She did what?" Yusei asked shocked.

"That… that just happened. Out there. Before the Prophet wrung my neck and- Oh, Mother of Ravens! I remember now. I remember what happened! I-I think I died. Am I dead?" Crow asked.

"You're here. That's all we know," Ayumu answered. "So, Mother… Mother Utana served the Prophet and the Prophet orchestrates the destruction of magicals. Which means Brian is responsible for… for actual genocide."

"I feel weird, guys. I don't like this feeling. I'm… I'm scared," Crow told him.

"Sorry, Crow," Yusei responded before they moved forward.

They reached the end of the road when a scene of the Prophet appeared. He used a stone and the Undreaming came out of him and into the stone.

A wizard they recognized as Roper Klacks came up and told the Prophet after a bit of talking before hand, "That… place. It was-It was filled with… with numbers. And… calculations. An eternity of equations. I couldn't find my way out. It was terrifying. So much power… I owe you my life, sir."

"And now you will serve me," the Prophet stated.

"How?" Klacks asked.

"You'll help me build something. A mechanical Engine," the Prophet answered.

"Like that 'calculator' I was trapped in?" Klacks asked.

"Something like it, but much greater. On a scale never before seen," the Prophet answered. "In return, I'll grant you power."

"Power… What kind of power?" Klacks inquired.

"The kind you once knew, Necromancer King," the Prophet answered.

"That was a long time ago… In another age. One in which magic meant something," Klacks answered. "I accept your proposition. So what's next-" Klacks stopped and gasped as the Prophet placed the stone in the wizard. "What did you do? What did you put inside me?"

The Prophet took off his mask. "Something to keep safe. Something that must remain hidden."

"It whispers to me," Klacks stated.

"Don't listen to it. The Undreaming has ambitions. Best we don't let those ambitions look on the world," Brian responded. "Not yet. Tell no one of this. There are those willing to commit murder to get what's inside you."

"My- My lips are sealed, Master. I swear," Klacks assured.

"Only the sceptre can shatter the shard of the soul-stone you carry within," Brian told him.

"The soul-stone? My soul-stone?" Klacks asked in awe.

"It was never yours, wizard… But, yes. A piece of it," Brian replied. "This sceptre and the soul-stone were forged from the same Dream, at the beginning of everything."

"Is that- Is that the Silver Spear of Gorimon?" Klacks asked. "Where did you find it? It harbors great and ancient magics. Could I-?"

"No," Brian denied before the wizard could even finish. "And not magic. This is an object older than magic. It can both control and destroy magic. It's capable of slicing through the fabric between worlds."

"It's… so beautiful," Klacks complimented.

"I spent decades looking for it. I found it with one of the Draic Kin," Brian explained.

"It looks… alive?" Klacks commented.

"It's been fed the blood of dragons, charged with the oldest magic of them all," Brian explained. "It's finally ready. And once the Engine's been built, the sceptre's true powers will be revealed. You'll stay close to me in Marcuria. I'll call on you when I need you. With the help of the Azadi nation, you'll build my Engine. They're eager for the power they believe it'll grant them. They'll serve me… their Prophet. In exchange, you'll have everything you could ever want. You'll be there, next to me, reshaping worlds."

"I look forward to it, Master," Klacks agreed before the scene vanished.

"I figured that wizard couldn't be trusted," Yusei commented.

"I could've told you that. Wait! I did," Crow responded. "He was there. Klacks. When the Prophet broke my neck. He's working for the Prophet!"

"So Klacks has a shard of the soul-stone inside him. And that soul-stone must be the same one we brought Lux," Ayumu commented. "Why does the Prophet need to keep it safe?"

"Something to do with the Undreaming?" Crow suggested.

"The Undreaming…" Yusei muttered. He then realized something. "It's inside the shard. It's not inside Westhouse because they it'd be controlling him. And he's controlling it. You were right, Crow."

"I was? I was!" the bird exclaimed. "I think… I think this is what I was supposed to show you."

"Okay, so what's next?" Ayumu asked.

"We keep walking, I guess," Crow replied. "I mean, maybe there's more to see." And sure enough the once dead end extended farther and they could see someone painting in the distance.

"April?" Crow responded landing on the easel as they came up to her.

"You. We should've guessed you'd be here. Or… It's not actually you. This place is strange. You're probably just an… an echo. A ghost," Yusei stated.

"What was that whole thing about 'find her, save her'? We found you. But we didn't save you. We didn't save anyone," Ayumu asked.

April turned to them. "You did," she answered.

"How?" Yusei asked.

"I was trapped. You freed me," April answered.

"You died," Ayumu responded.

"And was reborn," April told them.

"Reborn… How?" Yusei asked. April stayed silent. "You're either not telling or this echo is incomplete. I know this can't be you, not really. Because you're dead, and this is just-" He sighed. "So, what do we do now? We're supposed to save the Dream, but we don't know how."

"What have you learned?" April replied.

"We don't know… Brian brought the Undreaming to Arcadia. First it was inside him, but then he put it into the soul-stone shard. He became the Prophet, and he manipulated the Azadi people and freed Klacks, and… Klacks! The shard's inside Klacks. Which means the Undreaming is inside Klacks and the spear can shatter it," Ayumu realized.

"The one that killed the White Dragon?" Crow asked.

"The Silver Spear of… Gorimon. That's what you were supposed to show us, Crow. The key to destroying the shard and unleashing the Undreaming," Yusei replied. "The Undreaming isn't the real danger here. Yes, it is dangerous, but only because Brian is using it. Controlling it. We need to unleash the Undreaming."

"That sounds a teensy weensy bit risky to me," Crow responded.

"I know, but- This is what has to happen. I know it," Yusei responded.

" _We_ know it," Ayumu corrected. Yusei nodded. "I don't know why we know. Maybe it's because Lux knows and Lux is a part of us now."

"We find the spear, murder Klacks and unleash the Undreaming, all by ourselves?" Crow asked.

"We can't. We need help. We need-" April cut Yusei off.

"Kian," she told them.

"Kian! If I can get word to Kian, then- There's still hope! I need to get out of here," Ayumu responded. "How do we get out of here?"

"Good luck, Yusei, Ayumu," April replied before they saw themselves glow and found themselves vanishing.


	26. Only Ideas

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 26: Only Ideas

Yusei and Ayumu woke up and looked around. They found themselves still in their pods and noticed their mother working, but she didn't notice they was awake. They notice their friends talking tense. Akiza silently gestured towards the two Dreamers and when they looked, Yusei and Ayumu made a gesture telling them to not let their mother know they were awake.

They looked at the panel that was impossible for them to get to at the moment. They looked at the vortex for a moment before noticing the blue lines and seeming gaps in the ceiling. _'Reality is wavering. Breaking apart. The walls between dream and reality are starting to get thin near the vortex. It's Eingana's doing. And- And ours. Wait, does that mean we can-?'_ Yusei called upon his dreaming powers and the others were shocked when markings glowed along his body along with Ayumu. _'Yes! We're on the border between waking and dreams. Storytime's right here. A thought away. Which means… we can shape dreams. We can shape reality.'_ He looked at Ayumu who nodded confidently. They looked at their panels and tried to use their powers to open it but it was locked with a code. They looked at their mother and listened to her mind, trying to find the code. _'There it is for mine! 7-9-1-4,'_ Yusei thought while Ayumu found her code.They looked back at their panels and used their powers to type in the code. And with that, the pods opened and they stepped out.

Masuyo turned to them. "What? This isn't right. You shouldn't be able to… Hold on, Yusei, Ayumu. Just wait. Let's- Let's just talk this through. If you don't reconnect with Eingana, the wave fields will collapse before they've reached their assigned amplitudes. Don't you understand?" She began to walk towards the button that would release the gas again. "This reality is perfectly entangled with the proto reality-"

"Stop," the two Dreamers ordered in unison before using their powers to close the lid to the button. They turned to their friends and unlocked their cuffs with a motion of their hands. The normal Signers immediately stood up.

"Your powers are manifesting in observed reality, independent of the quantum field generated by Eingana… That's interesting. That means… The world is changing. You two are in control," Mira stated. "It's working, guys! It's working! It's beginning to-"

"Enough," Jack stated getting in front of them protectively with the other two, while the Akiza prepared her Black Rose Dragon.

"Wait, what's that?" Ayumu asked and they noticed what looked like a gap into another place. The two Dreamers then ran up to it.

"Guys, wait!" Crow called.

But they didn't and stopped at an opening where a girl stood at the center, seeming to be the one keeping the gap open. "Hey," the girl greeted.

"Hey?" Ayumu greeted back. Yusei just nodded his greeting.

"Nice outfits," the girl complimented.

"Thanks. You've opened a portal between Earth and Arcadia," Ayumu responded.

"It's called a Shift," the girl told him.

"You're a Shifter?" Yusei guessed.

"Not really. I usually walk Paths that are already open," the girl replied. "To be honest, I'm not very good at this. I need to stay right here and keep the Shift open, so we'll have to skip handshakes and move on to the main event." The two Dreamers noticed the man behind her. "Kian, Yusei and Ayumu. Yusei and Ayumu, Kian. I know you guys are supposed to speak. That's why we're all here. So speak. And, uh, make it quick?"

The two walked through the Shift and Ayumu commented, "We've met before in-"

"We have. We keep missing each other and-" Kian interrupted only to be interrupted by Ayumu. Yusei just watched.

"We do. We don't-"

"I'm just-"

"What?" Ayumu questioned.

"You first, Ayumu, Yusei," Kian told them.

"We know who the Prophet is and how to stop the Undreaming. At least, we think we do. But it's all we have and- Roper Klacks. He's the key. He has a shard of the soul-stone inside him, but we need the Silver Spear of Gorimon to destroy it and that's-" Ayumu began but Yusei stopped her rant.

"Ayumu, slow down," Yusei told her. "You're going at a pace that someone wouldn't understand if they weren't there."

"Thank you, Yusei," Kian responded. "The… Undreaming?"

"A destructive force capable of… of unmaking the universe. The Prophet's using it to destroy magic and reunite the worlds," Yusei explained.

"And this magical spear?" Kian continued.

"The Silver Spear of Gorimon… The Prophet used it to kill the Draic Kin, charging it with dragon's blood. He needs it to destroy magic and alter the Dream. The spear is the only thing that can shatter the shard inside Klacks," Ayumu explained further.

"Of course. And where do we find this spear?" Kian asked.

"The Prophet carries it with him. I don't think he let's it out of his sight," Yusei replied.

"So, find the Prophet, find the spear," Kian responded.

"And, probably, Klacks," Yusei added.

"Klacks was here. I punched him… but he got away," Kian told him.

"Someone survived being punched by you?" Ayumu asked nearly laughing.

"I held back. He called himself an engineer," Kian explained.

"The Prophet's been using Klacks, like he's been using your people," Yusei told him.

"But why does he want to kill magicals?" Kian asked.

"Maybe in his own, twisted head, he believes he's doing the universe a favor," Ayumu suggested.

"Can you guys get a move on? I'm not sure how long I can keep this doorway open," the girl called.

"We need to stop the Prophet, Kian," Yusei told him. "And we stop him by destroying the shard that Roper Klacks carries inside him."

"You're certain this will stop the… the Undreaming?" Kian asked.

"We think so. It… It feels right. Besides, what have we got to lose?" Ayumu asked.

"Nothing. Everything. But if we can stop the Prophet by taking his spear and killing a wizard… This is something I can do," Kian responded.

"I'm coming with you," Yusei stated.

"No-" Kian stated but the girl cut in.

"No, you can't. We're not done here," the girl chimed in.

"I'll see the three of you afterwards," Kian stated before leaving.

"No you won't," the girl responded.

"What?" Ayumu questioned. Yusei looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing. I'm Saga," the girl introduced.

"You know us," Yusei responded.

"Listen, this may look easy… but it's not. Weight of worlds on my shoulders, the pull of alien gravities, knees buckling, etcetera. So you need to not distract me," Saga told them.

"Sorry. What should we-" Saga interrupted female Dreamer.

"We wait. I opened the Shift, you spoke to Kian, that's why I was sent here. What comes next… it's not up to me," she told them.

Yusei began, "How do you know all this-"

"Because that's how the story goes, and it's been written, and we can't change that. Now shush," Saga replied.

"Fine," Ayumu agreed.

"Yusei! What's going on over there?!" Crow called.

Yusei sighed but walked back to the other side of the Shift. He told them, "A girl named Saga opened a Shift and we just told a friend how to stop the Undreaming and the Prophet."

"That explains basically nothing," Jack responded.

"It's complicated and we can explain after all this is done," Yusei told them.

"Or you can come down and explain a bit better now," Jack pressed.

Yusei was about to respond, but instead turned as he heard a person on the other side say, "Whoa. Sorcery." A couple people had arrived: A nerdy looking boy and a strange looking girl.

"Not really. But great that you could make it," Saga responded.

"Who the hell are you?" the girl asked.

"Is everyone going to ask me that question?" Saga scoffed. "Who am I kidding, of course everyone's going to ask me that question. I'm just the woman keeping the doorway open because I was asked to do so and I couldn't say no. I have no idea who you are, lady, so I'm going to guess you're not that important. But him? He's got a job to do."

"Is that… Stark? Is that Stark through there?" the man asked.

"Is it?" the woman asked.

"You would call it Stark, though we know it as Earth," Yusei stated walking back in, leaving his friends' calls behind him. "I'm Yusei."

They looked at the female Dreamer. "I'm Ayumu. Nice to meet you."

"Anna. This one's Ferdows," the woman introduced.

"I always believed the stories about a mirror world, but this… It's incredible," Ferdows stated in awe.

"Where's Kian? Is he alright? We lost contact with him," Anna stated.

"He went after the Prophet," Yusei answered.

"Of course he did," Anna retorted.

"Sorry, but Saga… How are these two going to help?" Ayumu asked the girl holding the Shift open.

"I don't know. I'm a glorified doorkeeper. Why don't you ask them?" she replied.

"Don't look at me. He's the star here," Anna stated gesturing to Ferdows. He just stared at the portal. "Ferdows? Ferdows, stop staring at that bloody portal!"

"Oh! Uh. Yeah. Hello," he stated as he snapped back to reality.

"Tell these two what you're planning," Anna ordered.

He looked at the two from Earth. "I- Ah, I was going to feed the Engine a series of calculations designed to make it, um, to force it to… Well, to stop."

"You mean, crash it?" Yusei asked.

"Crash? Yes! Yes, exactly! How did you know? Do you also code spheres?" Ferdows asked.

"Spheres? I know coding, programming, and stuff like that," Yusei answered. "So you can force the Engine to crash?"

"Yes. I mean, no. I could have. Not anymore. It stopped taking new instructions when it began running the final calculations, and-" Yusei cut the engineer off.

"There's no way to get in?" the male Dreamer asked.

"No, it's a closed system. Once the final set of instructions are running, there's nothing… I mean, I didn't write the core operational code. If I knew more about how this code functions, then maybe-" Ferdows was once again cut off by Yusei.

"Do you have schematics? Diagrams?" he asked the engineer.

"Diagrams? Of the Engine? Uh, I don't, but they keep diagrams right here. I can probably find-"

"Get them," Ayumu ordered. "Yusei's one of the best programmers or engineers that I know. If anyone can wrap their head around something like this calculating machine, it's him." Yusei shrugged. She turned to Saga. "Can Ferdows pass through the Shift?"

"No idea. But you made it through without being torn into a billion pieces, so the odds are decent," she answered.

"Got them," Ferdows said. "Uh, what was that about being torn into a billion pieces?"

"Follow me, Ferdows," Yusei ordered.

As they passed through, Ferdows said, "Va ven? Keo en teka-logika?"

"The most advanced Engine there is and- Wait," Yusei paused. He looked at Ferdows. "You're not speaking Japanese. I guess you weren't speaking Japanese in the first place, but… I still understand you. Do you understand me?"

"Uh… Ko'e?" he replied.

Yusei sighed. "Thought so," he stated. He then pressed a button. "Hand me the schematics." Yusei held out his hand and Ferdows seemed to understand as he handed the plans over. Yusei scanned the designs and looked at the man by his side. "Ferdows, watch." He stared at Yusei confused. "Watch this." He pointed him to the screen and they turned to watch it. After it was done, Yusei and Ayumu stood on their home side of the portal and Ferdows went to his. "Do you understand me now?"

"Uh, yes, perfectly. On that side, you were speaking… gibberish," Ferdows replied.

"Um, Yusei, Ayumu…" Saga called.

"Japanese. It was Japanese. But did you pick up on what I was showing you?" Yusei asked.

"Guys, you need to hurry. The Shift's starting to contract," Saga warned.

"Okay," Yusei responded. He turned back to Ferdows. "So, did it make sense to you?"

"The instructions? Yes. Yes, it made sense," Ferdows answered. "A special set of instructions, fed directly into the Engine, designed to mask itself as part of the final programming, but with erroneous calculations. Calculations that will cause the Engine to enter an infinite loop and burn itself out. A-"

"We call it a virus," Yusei told him.

"Like… a disease? This makes sense. This makes a lot of sense," Ferdows responded.

"Now, guys!" Saga called.

"Can you do it?" Ayumu asked.

"I don't know if-" Ferdows began but the Shift was lost cutting him off.

"I just hope he can," Yusei commented and Ayumu nodded in agreement.


	27. The Undreaming

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 27: The Undreaming

The two Dreamers walked down to where his mother was waiting with their friends at ready, Black Rose Dragon out and ready to catch Masuyo if needed. "How do we shut it down?" Yusei asked her.

"We won't be shutting anything down, even if you threaten to kill me," she denied.

"We're not killing any-" Ayumu stopped as someone appeared in the vortex, black markings on his face like veins. The man landed on the ground and slowly stood up. "Brian Westhouse? What are you-"

Yusei realized it. "That's not good."

"What're you doing? You're not supposed to be here," Masuyo told the man. "You betrayed me! You're trying to destroy everything I've-"

The man reached out and used his powers to grab her by the neck, choking her before lifting her into the air. Akiza had her dragon attack the man but he merely flung the creature into the wall, destroying it. The others knew then that they shouldn't do anything. The man turned to the mother. "You were merely a tool, Masuyo. Nothing more. Did you think I'd let you play god? Existence is an accident. It was never meant to be dreamed."

Yusei and Ayumu put a hand out and used their powers and said in unison, "Let her go." The markings on Brian's face began to glow before the Undreaming came out of Westhouse as the mist it was.

Before anything else could happen, there was a bright light blinding all of them, taking the two Dreamers into a space like place.

. . .

Lux was between Yusei and Ayumu and the Undreaming was in front of them.

"You're not supposed to be on your own," the two Dreamers stated along with Lux. "You've been causing so much grief. They don't understand you. They don't understand there needs to be a balance, in all things. Life and death. Light and darkness. Creation and destruction. Dream and undream. All things in Balance." Lux moved closer to the Undreaming. "It's time to come home and to dream new dreams." A dark, black colored version of Lux came out and met the being of light up close. They both combined hands before a bright light blinded everything and the Dreamer siblings blacked out.

. . .

When the light vanished, Jack, Crow, and Akiza found Yusei and Ayumu collapsed on the ground unmoving. Masuyo was gone as was the dark man.

"Yusei! Ayumu!" Akiza exclaimed before running to their sides followed by the others. She felt for a pulse on Yusei while Crow went to Ayumu and both sighed in relief when they found one.

"Are they alright?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Akiza answered and Crow nodded as his answer. Jack and Crow picked up Yusei and Ayumu with everything crumbling around them. "Let's get out of here." They nodded before hurrying off.

 **Sorry this is so short! I'm making them as long as I can without overstepping the point of the chapter! I promise, I'm trying to make them longer! They should be longer from now on, though!**


	28. Another Moment

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 28: Another Moment

 _Jack, Crow, Akiza, and the twins looked around seeing themselves in Storytime again. The light from the room from before was brighter and wider this time._

" _What's going on?" Luna wondered._

" _Why are we here again?" Leo added._

" _Let's head up there," Crow responded. "That'll probably tell us."_

 _They ran up and were shocked to see Yusei there with Ayumu. They were both in similar outfits from when they saw Ayumu in Storytime, Yusei only in a more masculine version._

 _Akiza ran up to Yusei and tried to grab him, but phased through again. They turned to the lights and noticed the two different rooms with unconscious forms of Yusei and Ayumu there._

" _Was Yusei with Ayumu in Storytime at some point?" Leo suggested._

" _Maybe," Jack answered. "I just want to know why we're seeing this."_

 _Yusei looked at Ayumu who smiled at him. She then gave a more downcast look, seeming sad or unsure. "How long do you think we've been here, Yusei?" the girl asked._

" _I honestly don't know. A couple weeks, maybe?" he replied._

 _They went to the edge of the ledge and sighed as they looked at all the Dreamer souls that were using a Dreamachine. Ayumu looked down. "We weren't able to stop it, though. We weren't able to stop the Dreamachine."_

" _We will, one day," Yusei assured. "We have to."_

" _But how? We're here in Storytime. Not out there where everyone's using it," Ayumu responded._

" _We have to keep trying, Ayumu, and keep doing what we're doing until we find a way to wake up," Yusei told her. "Alright?"_

" _Alright," she agreed looking down._

 _He ruffled her hair a bit and she gave a small laugh. They looked out hearing someone calling out for help in fear._

" _Oh, great…" Ayumu groaned. "A looping night terror."_

" _Wonder what this one's going to be," Yusei responded and they flashed to the dreaming spirit in an instant. It was man being pushed against the front of a subway train, with it repeating over and over again._

" _Well this isn't going to be fun," Ayumu commented._

 _Yusei focused and the markings on him that were identical to Ayumu's glowed before time slowed as the train and man came closer. The watchers went wide eyed in shock. Yusei and Ayumu quickly yanked the man off the front of the train before the train sped off and disappeared again._

" _Th-Thanks," the man told them. "It feels like I've been doing that forever. Where am I?"_

" _In a bad dream," Yusei answered._

" _We're here to help you wake up," Ayumu followed._

" _Alright, it's just a dream," the man agreed. "But… But it feels so real, though."_

" _It won't after you wake up," Ayumu told him._

" _If you remember nothing else when you wake up, remember that the Dreamachines are dangerous. You cannot use them,"Yusei told him. "If you do, you'll be back and you might be stuck in a nightmare forever."_

" _No… No… I swear. I won't go near one again. Not after this," he agreed._

" _Good," Yusei responded._

" _Time to wake up," Ayumu added. The man nodded and before disappearing. She looked at Yusei. "These are getting worse, Yusei."_

 _They turned to see the Vagabond by the fire again. "I know, Ayumu.. Let's go talk with the Vagabond," Yusei suggested. Ayumu nodded. They ran to the man by the fire. Yusei greeted calmly, "Vagabond."_

" _Hello, Yusei, Ayumu," he greeted back._

" _What is going on out there? Their nightmares are getting worse and more people are getting stuck. It's not that bad right now, but it's getting worse and worse," Ayumu told him._

" _I do not know what exactly is going on on the other side," Vagabond told them, turning to the two. "I cannot see it that well. But whatever is happening is only the symptoms of a disease that is stretching farther and farther into both worlds."_

" _So what do you want us to do?" Yusei asked._

" _One of you must wake up," Vagabond answered._

" _ **One**_ _of us?" Ayumu questioned._

" _I'm not leaving Ayumu to face whatever is going on alone, whether it's here or in reality," Yusei told him._

" _The disease is spreading more and more, each minute of each day," Vagabond told them. "One of you must wake up to stop it."_

" _But this will seem like a dream, won't it? So it'll just end up fading away," Ayumu questioned._

" _Perhaps, unless you fight to remember it," Vagabond responded. "And if you forget, the one that stays here will return to reality as well and bring you both together again with your memories."_

" _Then I'm staying," Yusei stated._

" _Yusei, no," Ayumu responded._

" _Ayumu-"_

" _She is correct, Yusei," Vagabond told him._

" _Why should I be the one to go?" he asked the Master of Storytime._

" _You are the strongest Dreamer between the two of you. If anyone will unconsciously connect you back to Ayumu when she wakes, it'll be you. She won't be able to on her own. And you are also the strongest and wisest out of you two. You will know what to do when whatever comes to pass comes," Vagabond responded. "And being you are such a strong Dreamer, you are the only one who can force himself awake into reality by thinking about it."_

" _Then why haven't I been able to until now?" Yusei asked._

" _Because you haven't been truly focusing on it. Most of your mind at the time is with Ayumu. If not for that, you wouldn't have been trapped here," Vagabond explained._

" _Yusei, you need to go," Ayumu told him. He looked at her concerned. "I can continue helping people here and you can help people out there however you can. You know people look up to you in Satellite, Yusei. They'll listen to you more than to me."_

" _Alright, fine," he gave in. He looked at Vagabond. "How do I leave again? And why can't Ayumu do it?"_

" _Ayumu has demons she needs to face to leave and she needs to be here until it is time for her to return. As for your first question: Focus, put all your mind into leaving, to going back to reality and Earth," Vagabond told him._

 _Yusei looked at Ayumu who gave him a nod with a determined face. "I'll see you when you wake up, Ayumu." She hugged him like a sister would to her older brother and Yusei hugged her back. "If you ever need me, I'll be there with you when I dream." She pulled back and nodded. Yusei then focused and disappeared._

 _Yusei's friends were beyond shocked at the sibling actions between the two Dreamers without them knowing they were brother and sister at the time. Ayumu looked at Vagabond, seeming worried._

" _Worry not, Ayumu," Vagabond told her. "He will be fine. He is strong and you will get stronger as well." She nodded. They heard someone in a nightmare. "Go do as you must." She gave a confident nod before running off._

 _As she ran, they heard her whisper to herself, "I'll do whatever I can until I see you again, Yusei. I promise."_

 _Jack, Crow, Akiza, and the twins then noticed a light surround them until they were blinded and knocked out._


	29. To Be Awake

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Chapter 29: To Be Awake

Yusei's eyes opened and he heard a familiar voice greet, "Good morning, Yusei."

Yusei looked to the side to see Ayumu beside him seeming to be starting to wake up. He sat up and looked at the room. It was Martha's medical room. He then noticed Martha standing at the doorway.

Ayumu slowly sat up. She looked around and seemed to relax seeing Yusei. She then looked at Martha. "Martha?"

"It's good to see you again, Ayumu. I barely believed it when I heard the story from Jack, Crow, and the others," Martha responded. "But it's good to see you and Yusei together again. Are you two doing alright?"

"Yeah, I think," Yusei answered and Ayumu nodded.

Ayumu looked outside.

"Want to curtains closed?" Martha asked.

"No," the sister Dreamer answered gently. "It's fine. The sun… it's good."

"It's good to know you woke up so soon. I didn't want you both to go into a coma again. Last time was bad enough, for both of you. But I wanted to at least be here when you did wake up," Martha told them.

"Did we win?" Ayumu asked.

Martha smirked. "We're still here, Masuyo and those people are gone, and you're out of that lab. So I guess we did."

"What happened at the end? There was a bright light, voices, and nothing. Darkness. And then… Well, this," Yusei questioned.

"I don't know. I wasn't there. But it seems like your friends didn't know either," Martha answered. "Whatever I heard came through… I'm lucky none of you were killed. The others said they tried to get to you but then there was a blinding flash of light. When it faded, there was just you two. No one else. They thought you were dead for a couple seconds. Akiza and Crow said they could barely even feel your guys' pulse."

"And… Masuyo?" Ayumu asked.

"Gone. Perhaps that thing they spoke about… I know she won't be back. If she survived, she'll stay away. Too many people want her locked up… or dead, by what I've heard," Martha explained.

"Is WATI still after us? You know, for us being Dreamers," Ayumu checked.

"Oh, no, they have enough problems on their hands," Martha answered. "It's been all over the news. Their plans for the Dreamachine were exposed. No one will be connecting to Dreamtime anytime soon. WATI will be lucky if they even survive this blow. And without the Dreamachine, they couldn't care less about you."

"Good," Yusei responded.

"Think you'll ever go back to that Arcadia?" Martha asked. "Because I don't want you in that coma again. Neither of you."

"It probably won't be by choice," Ayumu responded. "As nice as it would be to go back, we'll be able to see it again in our dreams, in glimpses. That's all we need."

"Oh, alright. I'll stick with that. But everyone's been worried about you. They'll be excited when they hear you're awake," Martha told them.

"That's good," Ayumu responded. She looked down. "Martha, in that lab, we saw… We saw incubation pods."

"Your incubation pods," Martha responded, shocking the younger ones a bit. "The others told me."

"We were made, weren't we?" Yusei asked.

"That, I don't know for certain. But what I do know is that you're still the same Yisei and Ayumu I raised. No matter what happens to you two, no matter what spirit beings bond with you, no matter how you were brought into this world, you're still my orphans," Martha reassured.

"Thanks, Martha," Ayumu responded.

"Of course," she responded. Ayumu looked down. "Anything wrong, Ayumu?"

"No," she answered. "Right now, I just want to… sit here. Watch the sunlight. I'm sick of sleeping, sick of dreaming. I want to be awake for once." Yusei nodded in agreement. They turned as Crow, Akiza, Jack, Leo, and Luna came in. They immediately smiled as they saw the two Dreamers awake. They grinned back and nodded.

Yusei and Ayumu knew they still had both the dark and light versions of Lux and the Yaga inside them. But Yusei knew for certain they would both be fine in the end; he was sure about that. They just needed to be awake for once.

"Hey, guys," Yusei greeted.

"We were worried you wouldn't wake up," Luna stated as they ran up to Yusei, taking looks between him and his sister.

"I honestly think we've had enough of sleeping," Ayumu commented. Yusei gave a soft, one laugh chuckle.

"I can honestly understand why," Crow agreed. "And at least we know this is really you. Not some physical projection of yourself you used to be."

"Still have your mark, Yusei?" Akiza asked seeming hopeful.

He looked at his arm which wasn't covered by a sleeve to show his Mark of the Dragon Head. "Yeah."

"By the way, what were those other glowing marks? They didn't look like the ones from when you were in Storytime," Jack asked. "For either of you."

"So you somehow saw the memory of when I left Storytime, then?" Yusei replied. The group nodded. "Those marks come from Lux, the First Dreamer."

"The First Dreamer?" Leo questioned.

"The Undreaming is the dark half of Lux. Lux is the First Dreamer, he created the Dream, created the universe," Ayumu explained and they went wide eyed.

"And how did you get those marks from him?" Jack asked.

Ayumu looked at Yusei. "Should we just explain everything?"

"Probably just the key points that led up to Lux and after," Yusei suggested. She nodded and they looked at the waiting group. "When we arrived at Arcadia, we were almost immediately met with Crow. He was literally a talking crow. A magical."

"Magical?" Luna repeated.

"I think we said this before, but while Earth is a world of science, Arcadia is a world of magic. There were people there that weren't human in the least bit or had magic in them. Those people were called magicals," Ayumu clarified.

"Before I woke up right before we left for Arcadia through dreaming, we were both contacted in a vision in our dreams by a magical named Abnaxus," Yusei continued. "He told us we had to find the Purple Mountains, a magical race called the Oular, the First Dreamer, and save the Dream. We didn't entirely know what he meant by that, though. When we arrived in Arcadia and left the Journeyman Inn with Crow, we both began to really recall everything from Arcadia when we were there before ending up in Storytime. Along with the Azadi."

"The Azadi?" Crow questioned.

"They were a group of invaders who hated magicals. They wanted to eradicate them," Ayumu explained shocking them. "In fact, a lot of people in the Arcadia town we were at called Marcuria were beginning to think like the Azadi." She shook her head. "It wasn't right. They didn't know the truth like we did. However, there was a group of people, including a former Azadi named Kian, who were rebels and fighting back the Azadi for their homelands and their freedom. We knew we had to ask them for help and see if they could give us any."

"We eventually found them and met someone we recognized who had completely changed," Yusei continued. "We were first looking for any clues on Abnaxus. The one we talked to actually had a key to Abnaxus' home which they called an 'abode'. He allowed us to take it and we went to Abnaxus' house. When we entered, we found a book along with an old friend of ours named Brian Westhouse coming in behind us."

"Didn't you call that man who came through the portal 'Brian Westhouse'?" Akiza asked.

"We didn't know he was the Prophet or had the Undreaming in him at the time," Ayumu replied. "In fact, when we knew him, it was after he was named the Prophet and began the genocide of magicals and took out the Undreaming and put it in the piece of a powerful stone, which he then put into a wizard named Roper Klacks. He was able to read to us the book since it was in an ancient language. It explained a bit and then we found out about the soul-stone."

"Soul-stone?" Luna questioned.

"It was Lux's heart. It was how he was able to start the Dream," Yusei told them. "And we needed to get it to wake him up. But, it wasn't going to be as simple as finding it, obviously. When we finally learned where it was, we learned it was with the Yaga."

"The Yaga?" Akiza questioned.

"You might know them better as Baba Yaga," Ayumu replied and they went wide eyed in shock.

"As in _the_ Baba Yaga? The witch that was said to have killed and ate everyone that came near her?" Crow asked.

"Yep," Yusei answered. "They were once one named Nox before Lux created the universe. Then they became three: youth, age, and decay; Baeb, Ayea, Gh'aa. And they had the soul-stone."

"And how on Earth did you get that stone from her?" Akiza asked shocked.

"Once we entered her lair and we walked after the stone a bit, them moving it a few times, they finally appeared, one face at a time," Ayumu explained further. "After a lot of talking and a bit of explaining their side, they asked for a piece of us."

"Piece of you?" Jack asked seeming tense. "What do you mean by that?"

"A sin. A secret," Yusei explained. "We each gave them our biggest secret or fear that weighed a lot on us. They took it and we have no memory of that fear or secret. Not anymore. After that and a bit more talking, with us saying that there has to be a balance with everything, they gave us the soul-stone as long as we agreed to remember them. And they reminded us every dream needs a nightmare. Which is kind of true."

"Yeah, are you saying there can't be the Signers without Dark Signers? Or light without dark?" Crow asked seeming annoyed.

"What they're saying is true, Crow," Martha told him and they looked at her. "No matter what it is, it cannot exist without its counterpart still there. Yes, you may have gotten rid of the Dark Signers now, but the Signers will never exist without the Dark Signers. You cannot have a dream without sometimes having a nightmare. You cannot have day without the night. That's a matter of life."

"Thanks, Martha," Ayumu told her. She nodded. "Back to the story, though."

"So you got the soul-stone. What happened after that?" Akiza asked.

"We found our way to the Purple Mountains, the Oular, and Abnaxus. When we got to Abnaxus, he explained things in his weird way of speaking," Ayumu stated. "Then he took us to the First Dreamer, Lux."

"We woke Lux up together," Yusei continued. "He then brought us into our minds and began to talk to us there. He told us he didn't just want the soul-stone, but also the Yaga. Apparently, the Yaga was with us in the soul-stone as well. We had to bring the sisters with us. And we did. He then told us we needed to become one with him. The both of us sharing his power and responsibility." They went wide eyed. "We were reluctant, obviously. But agreed and became one with the First Dreamer. When the Undreaming came out of Westhouse, we were caught in that light. And from what we can tell, the Undreaming joined Lux and the Yaga in us."

"And now we're keeping the Dream alive, together," Ayumu finished. "As well as holding the balance of the First Dreamer, the Undreaming, and the Yaga."

"That's a lot of responsibility you've put onto yourselves, you know," Martha told them sternly.

"If we didn't, though, the universe would've been destroyed," Yusei responded. "We didn't really have much of a choice." Martha sighed in defeat, knowing he was right.

"After that, we left Arcadia and woke up in the lab," Ayumu finished. "You practically know the rest from there."

"Yusei, we saw your and Ayumu's incubation pods in there," Luna commented.

"I'm not that surprised," he responded. "It's not something that's easy to miss."

"So, you guys were made in a lab, huh?" Akiza questioned.

"That's what it seems like," Ayumu replied. "While we had half-sisters, Yusei and I are full blooded siblings. We're not half. We actually learned it from the Vagabond when we first arrived in Storytime. But we totally forgot about it for a while."

"Honestly, you guys went through a lot in all that time," Leo commented. "But I really wish we could've seen Arcadia."

"What's it like exactly? Arcadia, I mean," Luna asked.

"It's more like a medieval version of here," Ayumu explained a bit. "It's a bit hard to explain, though. I just hope the rebels beat the Azadi. What those people were doing was wrong on all levels."

"Doing genocide in general is wrong on all levels," Yusei corrected.

"No kidding," Jack agreed.

"Do you know what they were doing with all the magicals that were free still?" Akiza asked.

"We met a couple of the few remaining Banda on the way to the Yaga. But they said the surviving Banda ran, though very few made it," Yusei explained. "The Azadi had really tried to kill all the Banda. And that's just one race of magicals. There were so many more they had tried to annihilate. But we don't know what happened to those in the resistance."

Ayumu looked down. "I hope they're alright."

"I'm sure they are," Yusei told her gently. She gave a small nod.

"Are you guys going to be alright?" Crow asked.

"Yeah. I mean, with all that weight put onto you…" Akiza trailed off.

"We'll be fine. We're sharing that responsibility together. Holding a responsibility like that on your own may be too much for a person," Yusei told them. "But we're doing it together."

Ayumu nodded in agreement. "Like a brother and sister." She looked at Yusei who nodded at her.

"With how you two were when you were younger, I'm honestly not surprised you're siblings," Martha commented with a grin. "Sometimes I thought you were and you didn't know it. Good to see I was right."

Everyone laughed a bit at her comment, knowing the truth of it. Yusei was happy to be awake now. He could tell well that it was the same with Ayumu. They were actually awake, in real time. They weren't awake as projected versions of themselves. It was really them that were awake.

And the dreams and nightmares that they would have probably wouldn't be normal ones, not since they had Lux, the Undreaming, and the Yaga were in them. But the two of them were fine with that. They were together, it wasn't them shouldering the responsibilities alone. The last of the bloodline family they had left was each other, and they couldn't be happier of that. The two siblings looked at each other and nodded.


	30. Epilogue

**A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF DREAMFALL CHAPTERS OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR CREATORS! ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS!**

Epilogue

It was a year after Ayumu and Yusei truly woke up from their comas. No one was using the Dreamachines anymore and everything was at complete peace. Most of WATI's money had been put into the Dreamachine, so with that gone, they were going bankrupt.

Yusei and Ayumu knew it wasn't WATI's fault for Masuyo's plan being made. They didn't know about it until they came for her. But at least the Dreamachines weren't being used anymore, that's all that matter to the two Dreamers.

They still went to Arcadia in some dreams. But most were of the universe since they were both harboring the Dream in them and keeping it alive. They had their nightmares thanks to the Yaga. And there were nights they had no dreams, most likely from the Undreaming. They didn't mind, though. All of the things that happened had their reasons.

Ayumu got to stay with Yusei, Jack, and Crow at their apartment in the spare room they had. They had used it for storage. However, with Ayumu being Yusei's younger sister and connected to him in ways the two other Signers would never understand, they made way for her. And the two friends actually came to really like having Ayumu as a friend. She really was like Yusei in a sibling way.

Yusei and Ayumu stood at the overlook. Ayumu was resting her arms on the railing while Yusei stood, just staring at the sun that was falling behind the New Domino City's horizon. Ayumu gave a soft sigh. Yusei looked at her and noticed her sad demeanor.

"Something wrong, Ayumu?" he asked. He noticed familiar duel runners pull up behind him, but didn't acknowledge them for the moment.

"It's nothing really huge. I just wish I could go back to Arcadia for real. You know, without having to need to go into a coma or sleeping for a long time," she answered. "I know by what we've been seeing, the Azadi have been stopped and everything is turning to a real peace there. At least it seems magicals are being accepted again and everything. But, I just wish I could go back. Check on Enu and the others. See everything for myself again, or as much as 'myself' as possible."

Yusei grinned. "Maybe one day, we'll have to. Or at least find a way to go there without needing to dream it first. Don't worry."

She nodded. "Alright, Yusei. I guess you're right. Knowing us, we won't be able to stay away from Arcadia forever." They both gave a small laugh.

"Well, it seems we meet here again, Yusei," came a familiar voice to him. They turned to the three men there, the three members of Team Ragnarok.

"Been a while, Halldor," he greeted.

"Apparently I've missed a bit even after first waking up from that projection whatever coma," Ayumu commented.

"Not your fault, Ayumu," Yusei told her. She shrugged.

"Who is that, Yusei? She looks a bit like you," Broder asked.

"Her name's Ayumu, my sister," he introduced.

All three members went wide eyed in shock and Dragan questioned, "Wait, sister? Since when have you had a sister?"

"It's a… long story," Ayumu responded. "And we have half siblings, too. Ones around somewhere and the youngest is gone."

"Gone?" Broder questioned.

"She died a few years ago," Yusei clarified a bit. "She was brought into the world like Ayumu and I."

"You make it sound like you weren't born like us," Dragan commented.

"We weren't," Ayumu answered bluntly. They blinked.

Yusei sighed. "We were made in a lab." The three other duelists went wide eyed. "It was our mother's idea and plan, starting thirty years ago. She wanted to find a way to change dreams as she wanted them. But she couldn't do that. So, she made us. One at a time. I was the first experiment she made. My father didn't die in the explosion. He went to help my mother after she first made me. A year after I was created, I wasn't turning out like she wanted. So, at my father's urging, they left me in Satellite and my foster mother's care. Four years later, Ayumu followed. Then it was the other two, Faith being the final one. But before the one after Ayumu was made, my father died to an illness. So they were only half siblings."

"Why did your mother want to make you so bad that she tried four times?" Halldor asked.

"You heard of the Dreamachine that made a huge titles once its plans for it were exposed?" Ayumu asked.

"That it was being used to record and gain power from people's dreams that were using it?" Broder mentioned.

"There was more to it than that," Yusei responded. They raised an eyebrow. "We didn't learn this until about a year ago. Our mother made us because she wanted to make the first manufactured Dreamer."

"Dreamer?" Halldor repeated.

"Mine and Ayumu's powers as Dreamers were there, only later than she hoped. Dreamers are able to cross the Divide between this world and the world opposite of ours, a world of magic known as Arcadia," Yusei explained and they went wide eyed. "Sometimes, if they find a way, they can focus and truly enter Arcadia as binary projections there. We did that twice. The first time, we were asked by a girl who was actually Faith, to find a woman named April Ryan and save her. We went into Arcadia by accident after that, each of us going into a coma from it. When we found her, she refused our help and left to figure out the Tower being made by the Azadi."

"Who are the Azadi?" Broder asked.

"They're invaders of Arcadia who wanted to destroy magic and all magicals. One Azadi, named Kian, turned against his people and joined a rebellion of non-humans and supporting humans that were fighting for freedom and their homelands," Ayumu explained. "It wasn't an easy ride with them when we first went there."

"Someone had told the Azadi of us supposedly using magic outside the only place magicals could go at the time. Magicals couldn't walk outside of Oldtown as they called it. They didn't mind it too much, but they wished for their freedom," Yusei continued. "After we were reported of doing so, which we weren't, we were taken to a prison to be interrogated. Kian was kind to us and tried to get the foreman to let us go. The front man wouldn't listen and said the proper papers weren't in order." He sighed. "Kian had no choice but to step down. He apologized to us before leaving. April along with a talking bird friend of ours named Crow came and helped us escape. We were lucky she came along. She then left for going to rebel base in a place called Myria. We went with a man named Brian Westhouse to see the White Dragon. She then sent us to Myria in our own way and we saw April in the distance talking. That's when Azadi arrived and killed April. Kian looked distraught, he obviously didn't want her killed." The three listeners were beyond shocked. "After that, we met with Faith who said we saved her and we stayed with her until she passed. After she did, we were brought to Storytime."

"Storytime?" Dragan repeated.

"The place between," Ayumu replied. "The place where all stories begin and end. We were brought there and were stuck in a coma there for a while. There was the Master of Storytime called the Vagabond. We gained certain powers there to help people who were using a Dreamachine and trapped in a nightmare. It wasn't easy. Eventually, the Vagabond had Yusei leave and wake up while I stayed to help the people."

"When I woke up, though, everything of Arcadia, Storytime, and Ayumu had been lost. Like any ordinary dream. It wasn't until Ayumu woke up and our abilities as Dreamers connected to find each other that we remembered almost everything," Yusei finished.

"What did your mother want to do with the Dreamers if they worked out?" Halldor asked.

"When we first fell into a coma, we thought we had actually woken up. But in reality, our mother had kept us in a coma for a total of three years," Ayumu replied and they went wide eyed in shock.

"But we fought you in the World Racing Grand Prix two years ago, Yusei," Dragan commented. "How were you still in a coma then?"

"You can thank ours powers as a Dreamer for that. While I was in the coma with Ayumu, we both projected physical binaries of ourselves into the waking world," he replied, the explanation shocking them beyond words. "What we experienced was real, but the Yusei you fought was my powers projecting myself in another life to some extent. When we went to Arcadia the second time, being over a year ago, those binaries vanished."

"And what happened the second time you went to this Arcadia?" Halldor asked.

"Before we left, we had a vision from a magical named Abnaxus," Ayumu began. "He told us we needed to find the Purple Mountains, the Oular, and the First Dreamer and save the Dream. So, we went to Arcadia to do so. We met Crow again and he helped us out quite a bit. After a while, we had to go find a witch older than the universe named the Yaga." They raised an eyebrow.

"You might have heard of them as Baba Yaga," Yusei clarified. They went wide eyed in shock and alarm.

"Why on Earth would you go to face someone like that? And why say 'them'?" Broder asked.

"The Yaga was once one being named Nox. Then, when the First Dreamer, Lux, began the Dream, she split into three: Baeb, Ayea, Gh'aa; youth, age, decay," Ayumu explained. "We needed to go get the soul-stone from her. The soul-stone is Lux's heart and the thing that allows him to keep the Dream alive."

"What's the Dream?" Dragan asked.

"The Dream is the very thing that made the entire universe," Yusei answered and they went wide eyed. "We had to do a lot to get to the Yaga and then reason with them enough to give us the soul-stone. It wasn't easy, but she gave it to us."

"After that, we went to the Purple Mountains which we managed to find. Once we got there, we found the Oular's home and the Oular who lived in a city in the clouds," Ayumu continued. "They brought us to Abnaxus who explained a bit to us before taking us to Lux. We used the soul-stone to wake Lux who then brought us into our minds and talked with us there."

"And what did he want exactly?" Halldor asked.

"He wanted us to become one with him and share the responsibility of keeping the Dream alive," Yusei answered.

"Are you serious?" Broder asked.

"Yes," Ayumu answered. "One of us alone taking it would be too much weight, and Lux understood that. That's why he wanted it to be both of us. We were unsure, but eventually accepted. We had no real choice, though. Not unless we wanted the universe to be destroyed. So we became one with him. But the Yaga was also with us there and became one with us as well."

"That's a lot of weight on you," Halldor commented.

Yusei scoffed. "It doesn't even stop there." They blinked. "When we woke up, we woke up for real in Jiva's labs outside of New Domino. Our mother had brought us there and was observing and studying us while we were in the coma. When we were looking for a way out, we found our incubation pods. Right when we left the room, we found WATI soldiers were coming in and trying to find us while killing everyone else. We eventually found our mother and she knocked us out." He shook his head. "When we woke up, she explained to us everything. Including that with our powers at their full potential, she was going to use us and a machine called Eingana which was being used to record and store the dreaming energies from the Dreamachine to reshape reality." They went wide eyed. "After that, she started the program and knocked us out. We found ourselves in the quantum field of dreams, reality's blueprint with the bird Crow. We went through different memories of Brian Westhouse where we discovered he was the Prophet and the one who initiated the idea that the Azadi's goddess wanted them to eradicate all magicals." They went wide eyed.

"Yeah, we know," Ayumu agreed. "After that, we found out he had taken a piece of the soul-stone and put the Undreaming that had possessed him into it and then into a wizard named Roper Klacks. We knew we had to destroy the shard, though, and unleash the Undreaming."

"Wasn't that a bit too risky to try?" Broder asked.

"Perhaps," Yusei answered. "But it was the only way, we knew it. Probably because Lux knew it and he was a part of us. But we also knew we needed to get into contact with Kian and talk to him so he could get the only spear that could destroy the shard and unleash the Undreaming. Thanks to a girl, we managed to do so. He went to do it and we met with a guy named Ferdows. I explained to him how to make the Engine, which was being used to destroy magic, crash. By what we can tell, he managed to do so. On our end, Brian ended up coming over, completely controlled by the Undreaming. Thanks to the borders between dreaming and reality being so close, we could use our powers from Storytime and Lux. We used those powers to get the Undreaming out of Brian who disappeared with our mother somewhere. There was a light and the next thing we know, we wake up in Martha's medical room. But we could tell we had the Undreaming version of Lux within us as well. So we have the balance of light and dark, Dream and Undream, and dreams and nightmares in the two of us, sharing the responsibility of keeping the Dream alive and that balance in balance."

"That's a lot of responsibility to put on just two people," Halldor commented.

"Maybe, but it's happened and we can't change it at this point," Ayumu responded. "And we've been fine since then. We've been truly awake for a year now. Sometimes we dream of Arcadia, sometimes we dream of the universe which is more common, sometimes we don't dream at all, and sometimes we have nightmares. But that's to be expected."

"Facts are though, we're sharing this responsibility. Even I wouldn't be able to shoulder a responsibility like that alone easily, if at all," Yusei told them. They looked at him surprised. "There are some things you need to shoulder on your own, but there are others that you need others' help for."

"That is true, Yusei," Halldor agreed. "I hope in this upcoming tournament we face you again. I wonder how much your dueling has changed since then."

"We'll see then, Halldor," he responded.

"Are you still a Signer?" Halldor asked.

Yusei showed his mark. "Yes."

"Until the tournament, you two. I know you'll fight your best, Yusei," Dragan commented. The Signer nodded and they left.

"How much did I miss when I fell into that coma?" Ayumu asked.

"A lot. I honestly wonder what would've happened if when I was fighting the Dark Signers four years ago I lost. Would I still have died? Or would it just be the physical binary of myself disappearing?" Yusei shrugged. He looked at her. "I'm just lucky both your physical binary and you, yourself, stayed and safe during those fights. Even during our fight against Yliaster and Team New World."

Ayumu nodded. "Yeah. If I wasn't, I may have never seen you again. And then you probably would've regained those memories and would have to deal with all this responsibility on your own, being the last of the Dreamers like us."

They turned back to the horizon which was getting darker. Yusei slowly said, "All I know now is this is the reality that was really meant to be. And we're truly here to see it."

"And that's the best thing I can ever think of would happen," Ayumu responded.

Yusei called. "Come on. It's getting late. We'd better get back to the apartment." She grinned and nodded. They left with that.

They didn't know what would happen next. But this was reality. A reality that was as true as can be. A reality that wasn't wrong or needed to be fixed. This was truly the reality that was and always will be meant to be.


End file.
